Thistle
by Kryss LaBryn
Summary: Chise, all grown up and finished her training, has something she wants to discuss with her husband. Is it time for them to finally start a family? Elias/Chise; Ruth, Silky, Shannon, Titania, Ariel, and probably eventually pretty much everyone else also appear.
1. Chapter 1

"Do you think I'm going to keep ageing?"

"Hm?" Elias glanced up from his paper.

"Ageing. Do you think I'm going to keep getting older? Or am I just going to—to stop here, like Angelica and Rahab?"

Elias tilted his head slightly, peering closer at her as he folded the paper, laying it tidily to the side. "What brought this on?"

Chise had spent longer than usual in the bathroom that morning, staring at her reflection in the mirror, searching for signs of ageing. Not of growing up, of becoming an adult; that had happened a long time ago. Her large green eyes, while still kind, no longer held the innocence—or the naïveté—they once had, nor the despair. Her face, reflected back at her, regarded her with a steady, calm gaze, the look one of someone who had seen much, suffered much, lost much, and gained much, and had come to accept the world, and herself, as it was.

Her hair, ruddy-gold highlights burnished into it over the years by the brief English summer sun, swung behind her, almost to her waist. She had let it grow longer once, past her hips; but found the length inconvenient. At this length a braid tamed it completely. No signs of grey yet; no crow's feet around her eyes. Her jowls were still firm. But she was only just past thirty; would she stay like this? Or was this just a final pause before an inevitable decline into old age and frailty?

She sighed, sliding into her seat beside Ruth, and accepted her morning cup of tea from Silky with a grateful smile. "I guess I've just been wondering recently... Am I a mage? I mean, will I have a mage's lifespan? Or just—just a normal human one?"

"Well, you're definitely a mage," Elias said in a considering tone, after a small pause. "You have been for a while now. But—you're asking if the learning, or the magic use, that makes you a mage is what increases your lifespan? Or if it's something genetic tied to the ability to use magic in the first place? Either way, I would assume that, so long as your curses stay balanced, there would be no reason for you to grow _old_. With your lifespan no longer artificially shortened from Sleigh Beggy burn-out, you ought to continue as long as Rahab, or Lindel, or anyone else."

"I don't feel any creeping weakness or degeneration in you," Ruth added.

Chise glanced sideways at him. He was dressed casually, as he usually had in the decade and a half since he had joined them; but as Chise had grown up, he had permitted himself to age as well, and now looked very much as he had when she had first encountered him, had bonded irrevocably with him, in the old church's graveyard.

He returned her glance, a slight smile playing about his lips. He knew what was on her mind, of course; how could he not?

"Even with only a human lifespan, though," Elias continued, "you would still have many decades ahead of you. Why this concern about it now?"

He was definitely more perceptive of emotions than he had been when they first met, she thought, giving her husband a fond look as he eyed her shrewdly.

"Well, you know..." she said with forced casualness, idly buttering her toast. "Our lives have been stable for a while, now. I'm done with my studies, both at the College and here with you. Our new arrangement with the Church seems to be working out, and they've held up their end without complaint—that we've heard."

"Simon is probably responsible for that."

"I agree, and that might change when he retires, eventually. But he says he's perfectly happy where he is, so that seems unlikely for another twenty years, at least. Right now, and, unless things change unexpectedly, for at least another decade or two, our lives are fairly quiet, and predictable, and safe."

"So far as _that_ goes," Elias muttered dryly, topping up his tea.

"So far as that goes," she agreed amiably. "And you've certainly seen enough over the years to know that isn't necessarily the status quo. And while of course I _hope_ that I will have a mage's full lifespan, it would be foolish for us to rely on that when we plan our future."

"Is that what this is about? Planning our future?"

"It is, rather, yes. Because it certainly seems a good time in our lives for it, the more so if I only have less than a century to live. If I wait too much longer, in that case, expanding our family begins to carry escalating risks, to both of us."

Elias frowned, his immobile face as readable to her now as if it had been clothed in flesh. "I don't understand. What risks? What do you mean, 'expanding our family'? Are you thinking of taking another familiar?"

"No; I was thinking more along the lines of us having a child."

Elias sputtered, fighting to keep his mouthful of tea from spraying across the table, a difficult feat without lips. "You timed that on purpose," he complained, brushing at the drops that spattered his impeccable shirt-front, as Silky gave a quiet giggle behind her.

"Maybe a little," she grinned. "But what do you think?" She leaned forward across the small table, taking his gloved hands in hers. "Do you want to have a child?" she pressed, a flash of anxiety briefly darkening her eyes.

Elias looked up, jaw dropping slightly open, his eyes distant as he considered. "I haven't thought about it much," he finally confessed, meeting her worried gaze. "It wasn't anything that I ever particularly thought of for myself. I will have to take some time to sort out my thoughts about it. But," he added, squeezing her hands reassuringly, "I am not opposed to the idea."


	2. Chapter 2

"...So we decided that, if we're going to do this, we're going to do it properly," Chise explained to Shannon.

"I agree," the fae doctor smiled at them; "And I'm glad to hear it. Your own biology presents an interesting and unique complication," she said to Elias, who was ignoring the examining room's chairs to hover protectively close to Chise, perched upon the side of the bed. "But even without that, there are enough other factors to consider with you, Chise, that I want to keep a very close eye on you. I appreciate you coming to me before you start in on the actual conception."

Chise blushed. "Well, I can't imagine that very many cursed Sleigh Beggies ever survived to be able to have a child," she murmured with a small self-depreciating smile.

"Not generally, no. You've been very lucky to have found a powerful protector who _generally_ has avoided burning through your resources."

Chise wasn't quite certain if Elias was deliberately ignoring her pointed side glance his way, or genuinely hadn't heard her. She rather suspected the former.

"So! Let's take a look at you. We'll establish some solid baselines while you're healthy, and I'll do my best to determine whether or not your much-punctured abdomen still contains an intact uterus." She rested a comforting hand on Chise's shoulder at her crest-fallen look. "We might see if I can wrangle access to an ultra-sound at some point. But so far as I've been able to determine, you've always seemed to fully recover from your injuries, so I have no reason to believe that any one organ has sustained irreparable damage when the others haven't."

At Chise's slight smile she turned to Elias. "Now, this is going to take quite some time, so why don't you go and find something to do? Give us at least an hour. We'll find you when we're finished."

"But—"

"No buts!" She politely, but firmly, pushed him towards the door. "Give your poor wife some privacy!" She shut the door in his face, and turned to Chise, not missing her paleness beneath the warm glow of the Anthill's eternal twilight. "We'll just start with some questions," she said kindly, picking up a clipboard and taking a seat. "So. You've been having regular periods? Good. How many days apart are they? Twenty-eight? Perfect. And when did your last one start..?"

Elias insisted upon carrying her all the way home, of course, despite her protests that exercise was not only _not_ detrimental but actually desirable. But she understood. She too felt a need to be as close to him as she could. Finally talking to Shannon had made it real, this step they were taking. It brought it out of the realm of "what if" and "maybe", and firmly into "we're going to". She wasn't having second thoughts, not precisely; but it was a big step for them to take. A huge step. A life-changing one, and that was if everything went well.

She was feeling a bit overwhelmed, and slightly frightened, and clung to her husband's neck as tightly as he did her.

At home, after a calming cup of tea (and some very deep breaths), she finally leaned back against his comforting warmth with a sigh. "So. It'll probably be a few weeks, our time, for her to get all the results of the tests back, and then, assuming everything still looks okay... We can begin."

"Mm." Elias paused. "And she has _no_ idea how long the pregnancy might last?"

"No, not with you involved." Chise gently stroked his shirt-front. "With most fae-human pregnancies, a human mother still usually gestates for around nine months, since that's how long it takes for humans, and they're the ones providing the physical component. But _you're_ a physical being as well, and no one has any idea what reproduction would look like for you. You're unique. So it could be the usual nine months, or nine days, or nine _years_. No one knows."

"And that's assuming I could—that it would work for us at all," he said, and fell silent, resting his jaw on his hand.

"Yes. Although, of course, that goes for any couple, I suppose."

"Mm." After rather a long pause, he sighed. "Well, without any further information, I suppose we can't count on having the better part of a year to prepare. Perhaps we'd better get things ready to go at this end first, in case it does end up only being nine days."

"I hope it's not, or if it is, that you make tiny babies! I don't much fancy trying to do nine months' of stretching in less than a fortnight!"

She had meant to lighten the mood, but failed rather miserably. It was a sobering realization, the risks of what they were trying to do.

"Chise," Elias asked softly, lowering his head to look her in the eye, "Are you sure about this? Even with a regular pregnancy, the risk to you would be great. With this—with us..."

"I know." She looked away, searching her feelings. _Was_ this what she wanted? Truly? Or was it just that she thought that this was what was expected of her? By society, by the other mages? They had lost so many in the Great Wars. Even now, a hundred years and more since the last had ended, their numbers were nowhere near restored. And England expected that every man would do his part. And every woman hers...

But not Elias. He had never expected a family, a child; had never asked for more of her than her presence, her attention. She looked back to him, seeing the concern in his eyes, feeling the tension in his arms about her. This strange, chimeric being, this wonderful man, who had saved her, whom she had saved herself—she knew, she _knew_ that this was right. For them, for _both_ of them. True, there were uncertainties, so many unknowns. So many concerns. But the decision, the _choice_ to have a child with him, to have _his_ child, _their_ child—that was not one of them.

They would have their child. _She_ would have it. They would be careful; Shannon would watch her closely. But all would be well; she could feel it, deep in her bones, an abiding certainty that this was meant to be.

They would have a baby, and Silky would help look after it, and Ruth would become Uncle Ruth, along with Uncle David and Auntie Angie, and Auntie Alice, and Grandpa Lindel (and wouldn't he hate being called 'Grandpa'! Or would he? She remembered when she had gone to make her wand, when he had sent for "his granddaughter," and suddenly thought that he would love it). And Great-Grandmother Rahab. And their child would grow up with the king and the queen of the fairies of Albion as their neighbours, possibly even their godparents. They would have a family, a large, loving, extended family, and they would ride dragons.

And even if she did only have a normal, human lifespan, and passed away after a century or so, grey-haired and wrinkled, she wouldn't be leaving Elias alone.

Chise smiled up at her husband, her eyes shining, and embraced him tightly. "I'm sure," she said.


	3. Chapter 3

The discussion about sleeping arrangements was surprisingly complicated. Angelica had to be involved, to offer some practical insight.

"But why a crib?" Chise argued. "My brother and I always just slept on the tatami mats between my parents!"

"And that's as well as may be," Angelica replied; "But tatami mats are on the floor, right? Babies can't fall off floors."

"But it couldn't fall off anyways, not with Elias and me right there."

"Right—until you get up to pee in the night. And then—roll, roll, bonk, waah!"

"I won't need to get up in the middle of the night!"

Angelica gave a hearty laugh. "Ah, enjoy that innocence, lass," she said wryly. "You should keep a journal and write things like that down in it. Some sleepless night you'll need the laugh. —Besides, what if that great lummox goes and rolls over in his sleep?"

"It still feels unnatural," Chise grumbled. "Babies shouldn't be separated from their parents."

"Believe me, there'll be times you'll _want_ that separation."

"But not as a regular thing!"

"There's no need to have the baby in a separate room anyways," interjected Elias. "We can put the cradle in our room. There's lots of room if we put the chair into storage."

"You'll want the chair," Angelica pointed out. "For late-night feedings and things."

"Wouldn't a rocking chair be better for that?" asked Chise. She had imagined holding her baby in the dimness of a moonlit night, peacefully rocking in the quiet.

"Hm. It would take up less space than the armchair," Elias added. "Might there not be room here for a cradle _and_ a rocking chair?" He surveyed his room, hands on hips.

"You'll need a changing table, too."

"We will?" Chise looked at Angelica, wide-eyed. "We always just had a pad on the floor."

"I've done that, too," Angelica admitted; "But a table is easier on the back. Plus it gives you somewhere to store the supplies—diapers, wipes, bum cream, all that stuff."

Chise looked at Elias with a kind of despair. "This is all getting very... complicated."

"Well, I mean, you _are_ preparing to look after an entirely new person who is going to be completely helpless—probably," she added, with a quick glance at Elias. "You need to lay in supplies. But also," and she gave Chise a reassuring one-armed hug, cuddling her against her side, "women—families have been doing this for millennia. Don't worry about it. I know it's scary; but once you get into the nitty gritty of it, you'll get the hang of it pretty quickly." She grinned. "And if nothing else, you'll probably be too tired to worry much about it."

* * *

"A breast pump?" Alice echoed, frowning at the weird thing Chise was putting away. It looked like a transparent air horn. "Are you sure you're going to need it?"

"No," admitted Chise. "But apparently babies have to be taught to nurse, and so do I, and it can be a difficult and frustrating thing for us both, and then they might not get enough milk, so this is just—" She waved her hands vaguely. "Just sort of back-up."

"No, I mean, are you sure Elias is even a mammal?"

"Well... He's warm..."

"So are birds, though." Alice raised an eyebrow. "Does he have nipples?"

"I'm not going to discuss my husband's physiology," Chise said, rather primly. "Besides which, if the baby nurses fine, we won't need it, and if the baby doesn't need to nurse, we still won't need it, so it really doesn't matter either way. Like I said, it's just in case. Angelica says they're hard to track down in the middle of the night."

"Yeah, I guess." She still looked doubtful. "Rather you than me, though."

"Have you and Mr. Renfred ever thought about it?" Chise asked, curious. "I mean, you're kind of getting on—"

"I am not!"

"—Getting on, _too_, I was going to say."

Alice slumped slightly, and brought her foot up to the seat of her chair in front of her, a sure sign she was uncomfortable. "Yeah... I don't know." She sighed. "We've never discussed it."

"But I thought you and he..?"

She blew a lock of hair out of her eyes. "Yeah, no, not really. He still sees me as his daughter, I think. Although I can't say he's really been okay with me dating anyone _else_, either. Not that I really want to." She sighed again, and looked away. "It's complicated."

"Do you _want_ to have a baby? With him? Or anyone else?"

"Well, there _isn't _anyone else, is there?" Alice said, a touch bitterly. "And I'm not sure I want kids, anyways." She grimaced. "Nasty messy noisy things... Sorry. I'm sure yours will be adorable and perfect, because of _course_ it will. It's yours. But for me..? Yeah, not really. I'd make a pretty lousy mother, anyways. I've got the maternal instinct of a cucumber."

Chise giggled.

"And I don't have enough magical talent to be worth trying to pass it on, anyways, and I don't think Mikhail wants kids, either. Not babies, anyways. I suppose we could always adopt an older kid, like he did with me." Her face twisted. "Not that I want to be his daughter anyways, adopted or not..."

* * *

"_Another_ blanket, Silver Lady?" Elias looked slightly askance at the latest addition to the growing stack of supplies beneath the changing table in the corner of his bedroom. "Do you really think we need this many?"

Silky gave a firm nod, and marched out to sort out her dwindling supplies of wool. This would hardly be the first baby _she'd_ seen in this house; she had _very_ solid ideas of what would be required.

* * *

Finally, everything was ready. Every conceivable supply was laid in. Silky was already feeding Chise more iron-rich foods, and more whole grains, and more protein, and more dairy, and just generally _more_, despite her protests that she wasn't even pregnant yet. The brownie seemed to feel that her reserves needed building up. Elias had read through a whole slew of baby books—helpfully provided by Angelica, once she realized that the sole related book in his library, 'A Handbook For Nursery Nurses', dated from the end of the Great Wars. "Babies haven't changed!" he'd protested, to which she'd firmly replied, "_Caring_ for them _has_," and loaded him up.

And Shannon's tests results had come in, and they had been given a cautious, but optimistic, all clear.

They were as ready as they could be.

* * *

A/N: My mother trained as a governess (or a "nursery nurse" as they were then called) in England in the Fifties. I have her edition; but the Handbook was originally published in 1946. It's full of very good advice-such as lying babies on their sides to sleep (nowadays they only recommend sleeping on their backs); waiting a bit before stopping one child from hitting another, on the assumption that the other will eventually lose patience and whack them one (and that that would be a better deterrent than an adult saying 'no', heh); and, if a child is having difficulties falling asleep, giving them a "hard-boiled sweetie" (small hard candy) to suck on as they drift off. So, like, tooth rot _and_ a choking hazard! XD

It has some very solid advice as well; but while babies still and always have needed to be kept clean, and fed, and well-rested, the _how's_ and _why's_ of doing so have changed dramatically over the years! So, yes, Elias, you need a newer manual, lol. ~Kryss


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Hi guys! Thanks so much for your patience! Good lord, when I started writing this chapter it wasn't yet Beltaine! '

It was just a combination of being extremely busy, and some truly horrendous writer's block. Hopefully the next chapter won't take me half a bloody year to write, holy carp.

* * *

Elias seemed distracted during dinner that night. "What are you thinking?" Chise finally asked him, stirring honey into her after-dinner mint tea. Elias huffed.

"I've been trying to calculate the most auspicious time for conception, and for birth," he replied, sounding slightly put out. "But without knowing how long the gestation period is likely to be..."

"'Most auspicious'?" Chise echoed. "What do you mean?"

Elias huffed again. "Well, properly, most larger creatures are born in the springtime, with conception taking place during the previous autumn. That gives the young the full summer to grow large enough to survive the following winter, hopefully. But __that__ presumes roughly a six- to eight-month gestation period, which would align well with the equinoxes, ideally. But then humans have a __nine__-month gestation period. And I don't know—I don't have the slightest idea how long my __own__ gestation period would have been. Presuming I had one at all," he added, staring moodily into his own teacup, "—and that I didn't hatch from an egg, or was pieced together by an alchemist, or—or spontaneously generated from a magically-polluted bramble, or something. So. Should we try to align the conception with Samhain? Or the birth with Beltane? Or the __conception__ with Beltane, because how can we try and time the birth for __anything__ if we don't know how long the gestation period will be? And at least Beltane is a time for new beginnings and new life—and then, hopefully, you won't have to deal with being pregnant when it's icy out. But then there's the summer heat..."

He trailed to a halt and dropped his face into his hands. "Did you know that elephants gestate for nearly __two years__?"

Chise got up to stand beside him and put a comforting arm around his shoulders. "Well, thank goodness you don't seem to have any elephant in you!" she said lightly.

"Mm. Yes. —You, either." He sighed. "But you see where I'm at. Perhaps we ought to just sort out the most appropriate day to conceive on. I hate to leave the birth to chance, though."

"Well, aside from all that," she pointed out, "if I'm not ovulating nothing will happen anyways."

"Ah. Yes. Of course."

He looked a bit down at that, so she added, patting his arm kindly, "But since we don't know precisely when that will be, there's nothing to stop us from __trying__ whenever we want. And perhaps the start of us trying for a baby on a particular day will be significant in its own right, even if the actual conception, or the birth, doesn't line up?"

Elias perked up a bit. "Yes, that could work! I can sort out an appropriate ritual for officially stating our intentions and asking for blessings. Hm. Perhaps something based on on the offerings the Norse used at the start of long or significant journeys..."

Chise laughed slightly. "If you like, although I'm not sure it's really necessary. Do we really need to make it complicated?"

Elias huffed. "A half-baked bonehead is trying to impregnate the neighbours' favourite sleigh beggy, the darling of Albion's fae majesties. I'd say we need all the blessings we can get."

* * *

After much poring over various books and star charts, Elias finally announced that the best time for the ritual he'd worked up would be Beltane. "Assuming you're ovulating, of course," he added.

"Well, we can do it either way," Chise pointed out. "If the good old-fashioned tradition of having sex at every opportunity doesn't pan out, we can always start tracking my cycle and temperature to pinpoint appropriate times more closely."

"I am fine with giving the old-fashioned way a try first," Elias said, giving her an affectionate nuzzle. "I did warn you that I can be old-fashioned."

"We should be sure to give it a proper chance, too," Chise added, embracing him and pressing a kiss to the end of his snout. "You know. Several months at least."

"Oh, absolutely!"

* * *

Beltane, besides being the most appropriate time for new beginnings and new life, was also conveniently close; neither of them wanted to put it off any longer than they had to. And, too, May Day lined up nicely with giving Chise's body the time to clear her birth control pills out of her system.

And so it was that, feeling an odd combination of solemn and giddy, Chise paced barefoot into their back garden on the eve of May Day, following her husband's robed form through the twilight.

She wore a simple white robe herself, fastened at the neck with a simple jade brooch, a birthday gift from Elias many years before. She carefully held a small silver plate before her in both hands, bearing a round, ruddy apple, the finest in their stores from the previous autumn's harvest. It kept wanting to roll; she braced it in place with a discrete thumb.

For his part, Elias, clad in his usual black robe, carried a small knife on his own plate, both also of silver. His own bare feet left a faint trail through the grass before her, still damp from the afternoon's rain shower.

She followed him into the small area they had marked out earlier in a private corner, the branches of the surrounding trees aflutter with several __koinobori__, colourful fish-shaped streamers. Pausing at the entrance, Chise waited for Elias to pace halfway around before she followed him, the pair circling sunwise three times about the rug they had placed in the centre, before meeting to kneel upon it, facing each other, a small space between them.

They knelt in silence for several heartbeats, listening to the birds singing their evening chorus in the trees and fields around them. Elias's eyes glowed brighter as he met her own shining eyes. She blushed slightly as his eyes briefly travelled lower, and shivered slightly as the cool spring breeze played with the edges of her robe; she was bare beneath it. As was Elias; but the cold didn't seem to bother him.

As the last sliver of sun slipped beneath the horizon, they placed their plates on the rug between them. Chise held the apple in her hands, Elias's own bare hands engulfing hers. Together, they quietly spoke the words he had written.

"From this one fruit came many seeds.  
From each seed there grew a tree.  
Beneath each tree sheltered a bird  
Around each tree there grew a bush.

And so they sheltered, tree, bush, and bird,  
Each cared for each, together throve.  
The bird nested, the tree fed her,  
The bush kept her safe in his thorny arms.

So it is with us, Robin and Thorn,  
Joined as one, may our fruits flourish  
Seedlings and nestlings,  
In the Spring's warmth."

So saying, they placed the apple back onto its plate, and Elias, catching up the silver knife, carefully sliced it in half. He passed one half to her, and was good enough to consume his own half in a series of smaller nibbles, rather than swallowing it in one go, as he was certainly capable of. Chise appreciated the thought. The flesh of the apple was still firm and sweet, and it was not terribly large; but she would have felt slightly awkward finishing it off while he watched her. Besides, it distracted her from how chewy the core was. She finally gave up and just forced the partially-masticated lump down, Elias popping his own small remainder into his mouth as he did so, swallowing it with ease. Well, to be fair, his throat was large enough to fit both her fist __and__ a small bottle down it.

Chise smiled at him fondly. He had come so far since those first days; they both had. He had been a good student, always earnest, always willing to listen. Those qualities had made him a good teacher, too, especially once they had both learned to let go of their fears of the other leaving them. __That__ was a lesson that had taken a particularly long time. But they worked well together, especially once they had learned to trust each other, to talk and to listen to each other. Being open about fears and concerns was something they had each had a lifetime, it felt, before their meeting, to learn could only lead to harm. Being vulnerable was to invite abuse. But here he was, her child of a star, caring for her, protecting and loving her, cradling her heart in his hands, as she held his.

It was time to share what they had found, to join together to create a new life. This was right.

Elias reached out a gentle hand and lightly stroked a stray lock of hair back from her face, lingering over the curve of her cheek, still marvelling at this beautiful woman who had come into his life. Her eyes and hair blazed forth against the paleness of her skin, of her white cloak, like jewels and fire against the snow. He could scarcely believe that it had been ten years, a full decade, since that long-ago afternoon in the auction house. Sometimes it seemed a century ago, that they had been together forever. Since always. Sometimes it seemed the mere blink of an eye. So much about her had changed—the easy confidence with which she now unconsciously carried herself and spoke; the wisdom in her eyes finally overcoming the fear that had lingered there for so long. The compassion that she had finally allowed to bloom for its own sake, rather than driving herself to risk her own life attempting to prove her worth to others. She had no need to do that, now; she had found her worth, and reached to help others because she could, rather than to justify her existence. And he had helped her to do that, to show her her own worth, he and his friends. He was so proud of her, of how far she had come.

And she had lifted him up with her, as he strove to be worthy of her. To be someone she could depend upon, could trust. She had been a good teacher to him, his teacher of human ways, as well as a hard-working student. She would be a good mother, too; would face her new role with the same determination and courage with which she had faced every other challenge, he was certain. There was nothing else he could do himself but follow her example.

Chise stroked gently down the centre of his chest, his scaled skin smooth and warm beneath her fingers, and his eyes glowed brighter again at her touch. They had been lovers for almost a decade, husband and wife in truth, not just the label an innocent mind had misunderstood since he had first heard it, centuries before; but she still marvelled at him, at his chimeric body, so full of textures and change and yet always still __him__. Still Elias. She could imagine no other arms about her; could never __want__ to imagine anyone else. He was everything to her; he was all she needed.

The eagerness in his eyes matched her own, was familiar and comforting and exciting all at once; but now a reverence shone from them as well. Slowly, not hesitatingly, but rather seeming to savour the moment, the act, he again gently brushed her hair back from her face, tucking it back behind her ears, trailing his fingers softly over the contours of her face, outlining her jaw, following the rise of her cheekbones and the delicate sweep of her eyebrows, the curve of her nose, the loving smile on her lips.

His own jaw parted slightly as his pupils curved into an answering smile, and he ran the pads of his fingers, softer than she once would have expected scales to be, down the elegant column of her throat, pausing to feel her pulse hammer beneath them, before continuing down the white sweep of her shoulders, lightly brushing the white silk of her robe down her arms as he passed.

He paused when he reached her hands, grasping the fingers of her unglamoured left hand with those of his right, deep plum and deeper black, all but indistinguishable in the moonlight. Raising her hand, he pressed the tip of his tongue to her knuckles in a brief, chaste kiss as his eyes, knowing and intent, lifted to meet hers again.

"I thought I had lost you, when this happened," he murmured softly, caressing her hand with his thumb. "I thought that, in my silly pride and over-confidence and—and just plain idiocy, I had destroyed the only thing I had ever truly cared about, the only person I ever really connected with in any meaningful way. The only one I have ever loved." He paused for a moment, his thumb stilling, his eyes distant. Chise gently squeezed his hand in return, reassuring him of her presence, but saying nothing, waiting.

"I was right," he finally continued. "I didn't think, didn't plan properly, and in that moment I truly learned what terror was." His thumb moved again, caressingly. "But in the end, that terrible moment, that dragon's curse, is what allowed Cartaphilus to preserve your life without driving you mad with unassailable immortality, a grotesque mockery of life. It was not remotely how I planned to deal with your Sleigh Beggy curse," he added with a small chuckle. "But in the end I am glad that it happened as it did. For it taught me some very valuable lessons, not least of the value you have in my life; and I suspect that without it I would not have been so driven to find a cure until it was too late, and I lost you due to my own carelessness, and withdrawn from the world in anguish, until my pain destroyed me, one way or another.

"I owe you my life, Chise." His voice was serious, his eyes steady as he regarded her. "You saved me from dwindling into a meaningless death, and brought a light—brought __life__ to my existence. You have taught me so much in our years together, more than I had ever learned in all my centuries before. You __believed__ in me, in my ability to feel, to understand things no one had ever bothered to really explain to me before. Why explain to a creature unable to comprehend? But you did. __You did__." He squeezed her hand, almost too tightly, leaning over her to be face-to-face with her. "Chise, you have walked beside me through so many adventures. I am honoured and humbled that you have chosen me to be the one to be beside you for this next one." He pressed his incisors to her knuckles for a long moment. "I truly do not have the words to express how much you mean to me," he whispered. "How much I love you."

Chise felt her own eyes well up in response, and swallowed thickly around a sudden lump. "If I was able to help you, to guide you, it's only because you were there for me first. When we first—when we first met, I told you I had never once felt lucky. Not once. And you said we'd try to change that. And we did, Elias." She rested her forehead against his. "We did. I am so, so lucky that we met. That Seth found me in time. That I agreed to go with him. And that you were the one to take me in.

"You were the one who made it possible for me to find beauty in the world again. To find happiness. And I have, Elias. I am so happy with you, to be here with you."

Elias's breath was warm against her belly for a long moment, and then he swept her into his arms, all but crushing her to his chest as she clung to him as tightly as she could.

Home. This was home to her, in her husband's arms, and the love she felt for him seemed too big for her body to contain. They would make a child, together, and pour all of their love for each other into them.

Chise was certain that everything would be fine.

* * *

A/N: The Anglo-Saxons considered the day to end at sunset, hence the timing for Elias's ritual.


	5. Chapter 5

_A/N: A warning that this chapter is nsfw; if you aren't interested in that sort of thing you can safely skip the rest of the chapter when you get to it without missing out on plot. ~K_

* * *

"Did it work?" Elias regarded Chise anxiously, pausing as he pulled the heavy duvet up over her shoulders.

"Did it... I don't know?"

Elias propped his pyjama-clad elbow more comfortably on his pillow and tilted his head in confusion. "But you __must__ know. Women know these things. Everyone says so."

"__Some__ women __think__ they can tell, Elias," Chise said gently. "I'll still need to take a pregnancy test with Shannon to be sure, remember, and even then it won't be able to tell for days yet, maybe weeks. Remember? The sperm needs to reach the egg, and then the fertilized egg travels down the fallopian tube to the uterus-"

"Ruth, can __you__ tell?"

Ruth raised his doggy chin over the end of the bed and regarded the mage flatly. "What makes you think that I would have __any__ idea what it would feel like to be pregnant?"

Elias sighed, and dolefully looked back to his wife. "Days?"

"At least."

"Or weeks."

"Or weeks. Certainly not hours later." She smiled sympathetically, and brushed her hand along his cheek, gently cradling it. "But I __promise__, the moment I feel __anything__ different, I will tell you right away. All right?"

"All right." Elias pressed his hand over hers, then clasped it in his, looking down at their entwined fingers. Chise's usual glamour was back in place; her fingers were small and pale against his. "Perhaps the rings will alert me."

"Perhaps." She pressed a kiss to his nose, and settled back into the bed beside him. "Goodnight, Elias."

"Goodnight, my love," he replied absently, still staring at his ring. 

* * *

He asked again the next morning at breakfast. "Do you think it worked?"

"Elias..."

"Are you feeling nauseous at all?" He pressed a hand to his chest. "My insides feel all fluttery and breakfast isn't sitting very well. Am __I__ nauseous?"

"I think __I'm__ about to be," muttered Ruth, giving him a dark look as he reached for the toast.

"__Elias__..."

Elias looked up, mouth agape. "What if __I'm__ pregnant? Rahab only thought I was male because of my voice, but women can have deep voices too—"

"__Elias!__" Chise slapped the flat of her hand on the table. "You aren't pregnant! You're just nervous." She rubbed her stinging palm.

"But how do we __know__?" Elias asked plaintively.

"Because __I don't make sperm__."

"Ah. Yes." He looked abashed. "But—do __I__?"

Ruth gave him a disgusted look and rose, stuffing the last of his toast into his mouth. "'m fee'ing 'eh 'ickens," he said, and stalked from the room.

__Sorry Ruth, __Chise thought at him.

__It's okay, __he replied shortly. __I'm nervous too. I just need some air.__

__All right.__ She met Elias's gaze. "If you don't," she said dryly, "You certainly fake it well."

"I honestly don't know how I do it," he confessed, somewhat woefully. "It just sort of—happens? But what if—?"

"__Elias__." Chise leaned across the table, taking his hands. "It's all right. It's all going to be __all right__. I'm nervous too. It's a big step! But it's one we've thought over carefully, and prepared to the best of our abilities for, and we have lots of help if anything goes wrong. Which it __won't__." She squeezed his gloved hands, willing him to believe her. Willing it to be true. "If—__if__—I'm not pregnant in say six months, then we can have Shannon see about running some tests to make sure you're producing viable sperm, if you like. And if it comes right down to it, there's all sorts of fertility treatments they can do nowadays if we can't do it the old-fashioned way on our own.

"But Elias." She squeezed his hands tighter, and leaned in closer, her voice serious. "I really need you to try and be as calm about this as you can be, and to try to not let yourself get all worked up about it. Because I need to do the same, I need to be calm about it all as well, or we're both just going to be complete messes. And I can't stay calm for both you __and__ me. Do you understand? I'm not angry with you—not at all. But it's a big step for us all, and I'm nervous about it all too, and if you start freaking out I'm going to slip straight from nervous to __terrified__."

Elias looked chagrined and said nothing, lowering his gaze to their hands, but nodded slightly, and returned her squeeze.

"It's going to be okay. All right? It really is. This might be the first time __we've__ done this; but we're far from the first people to have a baby. Right?"

He sighed deeply, and nodded again, then swallowed heavily. "But Chise," he whispered, "There's so many unknowns with us. What if—what if something g—"

"__No__. Don't even __say__ it. Everything will be __fine__."

"Chise." Elias's eyes met hers. "I can't lose you."

"I know," she said, her voice thick. "But you __won't__."

He looked down at their hands again. In a tiny voice, he said, "Promise?" 

* * *

Three weeks later Chise got her period. Right on schedule.

"Well, I didn't __really__ think it would happen right away," she sighed, leaning against Elias, his arm tucked securely around her. "But I hoped."

Elias gave her a reassuring squeeze before standing up from the side of the bed, where he had been sitting beside her. "We'll try again," he soothed, "as soon as we can. Meanwhile," and he bent to remove her slippers, "back into bed with you."

Chise obediently climbed back under the covers, and held them up for Ruth, who climbed in and flopped down to press his doggy back to her stomach, not even bothering to tread his circles first. "I hope this happens soon," he grumbled, as Chise gratefully pressed her tummy to his warmth. "I don't know how human women put up with this."

"We have to," she said simply; "we aren't given a choice."

"I'll have Silky bring you some nice hot tea in a while," Elias said, tucking the covers in around her neck as Ruth muttered under his breath at the unfairness of it all.

"Please," she said wearily, closing her eyes. 

* * *

It was a week later that Elias paused as he was unbuttoning his shirt in their bedroom that evening, suspenders already dangling about his hips, and glanced sideways at her. "Chise," he all but purred, "Don't bother putting your nightgown on just yet."

Chise paused, arms halfway through the sleeves, and peeked at him through the neckhole. "Oh?"

Elias casually paced a step closer, undoing his cuffs. "Your scent has changed today. It is __most__ enticing." He leaned over her, nuzzling the side of her neck, and inhaled deeply. "Mmm. Delicious."

"Oh! Uh... Okay..." He was cradling her head in his naked hands, lightly brushing a canine against the shell of her ear, tracing around and under it with the tip of his tongue. She shivered, her knees going weak. "Wait," she gasped, trapped in folds of flannel; "Let me get this off. I can't move."

"No? How __terribly__ unfortunate." He stepped back, just far enough to raise the hem of her nightgown back over her head; but stopped when he reached her elbows, quickly and lightly wrapping her forearms and hands in the enveloping cloth. "What about now?"

"__Elias!__ Let me out." She struggled a bit, careful to not try __too__ hard to get free; but the improvised restraint held.

"Mm, no, I don't think I will. Not just yet." He stepped back and studied his handiwork for a moment. His wife was mussed and flushed; she blew a stray lock of hair out of her eyes and rested her bound hands on her head.

"Well? Now what?"

"Oh, nothing __just__ yet; I intend to take my time." He started to undo the knotted cords at the nape of his neck, but paused to grip her hands as she started to lower them. "No—no, I think I would like you to keep them raised, if you please."

Chise raised a brow, but complied, resting them on her head again. "Is this all right?"

"Is it comfortable for you? Not too tight?" He briefly nuzzled her forehead; she nuzzled him back.

"It's fine."

"Then yes, keep them like that until I tell you otherwise, if you would."

"All right."

He stepped back again, raising his own hands to finish removing his veil, watching her closely, aware of how much she enjoyed glimpses of his body beneath his clothes, relishing the spark in her eyes as she ran them over his flexing muscles.

He carefully folded it and put it away in his wardrobe, before leisurely removing his shirt, taking his time, loving the small sounds of appreciation she unconsciously made.

He felt no particular need to hide himself from her eyes, certainly not after a decade together; but he kept his rather formal wardrobe unchanged nevertheless, realizing eventually that she found the anticipation of his body, the small glimpses of his bare skin at throat and wrist, much more enticing than even outright nakedness would be.

Consequently, he was enjoying this small striptease, and his wife's appreciative reaction, very much indeed.

His shirt, veil, and bolo tie removed and dealt with, he reached for his belt buckle, but paused partway through releasing it. "Have you any plans over the next few days?" he asked casually, before removing it just a bit... too... slowly.

"Hm?" She was staring rather fixedly at his groin. "Oh, uh... Not really." She blinked and raised her eyes to his, pupils wide. "I have some marking to do, but..."

"Excellent." He lightly trailed his fingers down his chest and along his waistband, drawing her attention back downwards. "I would like you to keep them free, if you would."

"Yeah, okay," she breathed, distracted again. He noted her increasing flush and the way she was pressing her thighs together with a satisfied smirk. Oh, he had __plans__ for her tonight..!

Her scent was intoxicating; it was like drinking fine wine. The natural sweetness of her skin, the flowery scent of green growing things, the musk of her arousal; it all blended together with another undertone, one not always present, but that he did regularly smell from her. It was like hooks, like clutching fingers seizing his heart and groin and hind-brain, bypassing conscious thought to pull him to her. It seemed to indicate an increase in her physical affections as well, he was beginning to realize. Perhaps it had a similar effect on her? Or was the result of it.

In any case, it didn't particularly matter. Either way, he fully intended to give into it and fully enjoy every inch of his wife.

Leaving his pressed black trousers for the nonce, he lifted her into his arms, careful to not cradle her too close, not just yet, starving them both of that desired contact, as he carried her to the bed, laying her down in the middle of it. She looked up at him, eyes wide, biting her lower lip in anticipation, and he couldn't resist a quick lick to it. Gods, she was beautiful.

She had kept her bound hands above her head as he had requested, laying them upon the pillow. He gently stroked the hair back from her face, knowing how it tickled her, taking a moment to trace the line of her jaw, the curve of her cheek, the small fine hairs of her brow as he rested on his elbow beside her, before grasping the lump of her hands and nightgown and gently placing it over her upper face. "Can you see anything?" He murmured.

"No..."

"You can breathe all right? No discomfort?"

"No, I'm fine," she confirmed, and gasped as he lightly brushed his fingertips over her nipple, the areola crinkling as she firmed at his touch.

"Good." Very very lightly, slowly, he touched her, the way he always wanted to touch her, tracing the curves and contours of her body. Enjoying her. Loving her. The way she'd turn her head to the side and moan softly as he traced her collarbone. The way she'd bite her lip and raise her pelvis slightly, seeking his touch, as he followed the line of her breastbone down to her stomach. The way the slightest of touches to her belly would raise goosebumps on her flesh and make her toes curl. He spent quite some time there, barely touching her skin, just barely skimming the fine hairs between her navel and pelvis, the slight jut of her hips, her curves softer now, more well-fed and developed than when he had first laid eyes upon her as a starving teen, standing barefoot in a too-short shift and chains, alone in a spotlight upon a stage in an auditorium filled with masked strangers, likely mere shadows to her eyes if she could make them out at all.

She must have been terrified; he knew she had been hopeless, filled with despair. But right from the start, from that very first moment, she had raised her eyes to his, looking at him with surprise and wonder and, yes, definitely uncertainty; but without fear. She had not cringed back from him. He had towered over her slight form, strange and inhuman, and she had not cowered from him. He knew immediately, as soon as he saw her, as soon as she met his eyes so fearlessly, that he had to have her. He had to take her away with him. She was important.

He wanted an apprentice and a wife (and oh, how he had misunderstood that word!), someone he could take in and teach—as much to stop the other mages from nagging him about it as anything else; but it was an opportunity to learn more about humans, as well, observing a more-or-less ordinary one close up, and he certainly had fulfilled that objective. The poor naïve bonehead he had been back then had had no idea just how important she would be to him, though. How much she would upend his staid and settled existence, how much she would truly make him alive.

He played a little with the soft auburn hairs there, before running his nails down the underside of her arm and down her side, making her twitch and shriek. He leaned over and traced his path in reverse with the barest tip of his tongue, and her giggles and efforts to twist away from his touch turned to sighs and soft moans and attempts to lift her body to meet him. He kept his distance, though; he was not yet done playing with her. Worshipping her.

Never would he have his fill of her.

He knew she would feel vulnerable like this, exposed, with the underside of her upper arms, with her sides laid bare and defenceless to the world. That it would still evoke a small __frisson__, akin to fear, in her. It always pleased and humbled him that she would willingly lie like this, would trust him with her vulnerability.

He paused to gently nibble the delicate skin of her inner elbow, careful to not __quite__ tickle, before slowly making his way to her ear, to the pulse point just beneath it, wetting her skin with his tongue, inhaling cold air across it to make her shiver, before biting down __almost__ too hard, and releasing her to breathe warm air over the reddened spot, gently laving his tongue over her again. He spent rather a lot of time doing that, working his way down the side of her neck and along her collarbone to the hollow just above her breastbone, where he lingered a while before continuing up the other side, his fingertips ever so lightly tracing down her sides and along her belly, enjoying the quivers and twitches she gave with every pass.

He loved hearing the sounds she made when he made love to her like this, knowing her soft sighs, her moans and keening cries, her pleas and demands for satisfaction were for him alone. That he was the only one who would ever hear her like this; __had__ ever heard her like this. He ran his knuckles up her stomach and past her ribs to gently trace the curve of one small, perfect breast.

"__Please__, Elias!" she gasped, rolling to try and meet his hand. Finally obliging her, he palmed her breast more firmly, pinching her nipple and tugging it before leaning over to suckle her. He might not have lips in this form; but he could still create suction between his tongue and the roof of his mouth, and he greatly enjoyed putting the ability to good use on her as she pressed herself desperately to his hip.

He ran his hand back down her side, squeezing her bottom in passing as he did so, to pull her thigh up over his, greatly improving the angle and contact for them both. She was close, he could tell; that she hadn't thought to do so herself would have given her state away if her flushed chest and incoherent cries hadn't already. Extremely pleased with the results of his handiwork, he released her breast from his mouth and pushed her thighs up and away, exposing her inner core as he shifted lower on the bed, coming to rest between them.

He paused a moment to nuzzle her belly, but only for a moment; he wanted to stretch this moment of anticipation out for himself for as long as possible; but he also didn't want her to fall back from her peak. __Gods__, she smelled good. He couldn't resist pressing his nose to her, deeply inhaling her scent before gently spreading her labia and giving her a long, slow, languorous lick.

She was apparently quite keen on his administrations; she thrust herself almost violently against his muzzle. Chuckling, he carefully pressed the hood of her clitoris back, exposing the tender flesh to his breath and tongue.

Her wild bucking was making it hard to aim properly. He took her in hand, his hands all but engulfing her hips as he held her steady. He could have crushed her; he was easily able to hold her immobile.

Running his tongue along her slit, he finally gave in, sliding his tongue inside her, drinking her, his incisors bumping her clitoris.

He chuckled again as he felt her hands grasp the base of his horns, urging him to greater efforts, happily obliging her.

She came hard, rhythmically clenching around his tongue, fully giving voice to those cries of pleasure that he loved so much.

He slowed slightly, keeping her teetering on the edge, wringing every last spasm from her before she finally went limp beneath him. Giving her a long, last, loving lick, he crawled back up beside her to take her into his arms.

"M'hands came loose," she sleepily explained into his chest.

"Did they now?" Lifting her slightly as he rolled to his side, he pulled the duvet out from beneath them, kicking their legs underneath it before pulling it up and gently tucking it around her. She pushed it back down to her waist.

"Hot," she mumbled.

"Are you indeed?"

"Mmm...Mm hmm."

"Well, __I__ certainly think so." He gave the bridge of her nose a small lick; she grumbled and rubbed it against him. He laughed softly. "Why don't you rest for a bit then and cool down?"

"A'right... G'night..."

"Oh, it will be," he assured her, giving her a squeeze. "I'm not __nearly__ finished with you." 

* * *

_A/N: I'm going to be out of town until the middle of August (2019), so I expect it'll be a while before I get the next chapter up as I'm not expecting to have a chance to do much writing while I'm away. But never fear! There's no way I'm abandoning it. You can check out my fanfic Tumblr at .com for status updates; if I'm unusually delayed I try to say so there. __~Kryss_


	6. Chapter 6

_A/N: Bit of a trigger warning on this chapter, I'm afraid, for a miscarriage. Sorry._

* * *

True to his word, Elias was almost annoyingly attentive for the next two days, to the point, Chise reflected, that she would have had to call in sick from sheer exhaustion, had she been scheduled to work. As it was, it was quite late Sunday evening before he finally seemed sated, lying back with a sigh.

"You don't know how good it feels to finally give in to you to my heart's content like that."

"All very well and good for you," Chise mumbled as her eyes drifted closed. "Can't feel my legs, myself."

Elias did seem quite confident that his extensive efforts would bear fruit, so to speak, treating her with an air of smug proprietariness that she tolerated with an indulgent smile. And indeed, her usually-regular menses were late. One week passed by, as she crossed off the days on her calendar with a careful hand, two weeks, three—and then they struck with a vengeance.

* * *

Chise groaned, clutching her knees to her chest with shaking hands, resting her spinning head on them. The heat of the bath was not helping as much as it should have; it was just making her feel faint. The water was red with blood.

Elias gently brushed a strand of hair back from her damp forehead, and sighed softly as he rose, his shoulders slumping slightly.

"Out of the bath, my love," he said, gathering her up out of the water to stand, dripping, on the mat, and wiping her face with a cool, wet cloth. "I don't like how pale you are. I want you into bed."

Chise cried out, clasping her hands to her tummy as her knees buckled beneath her. Another trickle of deep red blood ran unheeded down her thighs. "It hurts, Elias!" She whimpered, weakly.

"I know, love. I know," he soothed, gathering her up into a large, fluffy towel, scooping her up to carry her up the stairs. Tears trickled down her waxen cheeks, her eyes bruised and sunken, as she curled as tightly as she could against the pain.

The Silver Lady awaited them in their bedroom, duvet already turned back, more towels in place, smoothed and ready. Her eyes were concerned as she handed Elias another towel, loosely rolled, which he placed firmly between her thighs before tucking her in.

"Rest now, Chise," he murmured, giving her a long, gentle nuzzle. "I'll be back with medicine soon."

At his inclined head and meaningful glance, Silver gave her a comforting pat before following him into the hallway.

"She's hemorrhaging magic as well as blood," he said quietly, closing the door behind them. "You've seen many pregnancies over the years, I expect, haven't you? This _is _what I think it is, isn't it?"

Eyes downcast, she nodded.

He sighed heavily. "Well, I suppose it's to be expected. At least it was early in; I don't think she's realized yet."

Rubbing his hands over his face, he started down the hallway to his study. "I don't like her pallor. I'm going to make something for the pain, something to help strengthen her. Would you send word to Shannon, please? I'm not sure she wouldn't be better off in the Anthill. But I don't want them swarming her and feasting from her, either."

The Silver Lady nodded, and left him to it. Her mistress's doctor would be summoned with alacrity.

* * *

Chise was somewhere between fast asleep and unconscious as Shannon took her pulse. "Weak, but steady," she said at last. "But you're right; she's lost more blood than I'd have liked. I don't think she needs a transfusion yet, though, although I'll keep monitoring her just in case. You said she started bleeding this morning?"

Ruth peeked out of Chise's shadow, his glowing eyes dim and weary. "The bleeding started just before breakfast, but she was feeling off yesterday evening already."

"Why didn't you say anything?" Elias demanded.

Ruth looked at him sidelong. "We both just thought she was just tired and crampy. Periods aren't much fun at the best of times, you know." Elias had the grace to look abashed. "It was almost lunchtime before we realized it was still getting worse and worse, and that something else was wrong. It _is _wrong, isn't it," he added to Shannon, making it more of a statement than a question.

The fae doctor nodded. "She's having a miscarriage," she calmly, but not unkindly, confirmed.

"Ah. We thought so. I hoped she was wrong, but she didn't think she was."

Elias sank onto the bed beside his wife, taking her hand in his, stroking her hair with his other. His shoulders drooped. "When she was so late, when there was so much blood, I knew," he said, to no one in particular. "I haven't seen many healthy pregnancies; but I've been called to miscarriages before, both natural and induced." A shudder ran through him. "I, too, hoped."

Shannon dangled a pinkish stone on a thin chain above Chise's motionless form; it pulsed, slow and dull. "Most pregnancies do end in miscarriages, especially in the first trimester," she said absently, studying the stone's vague movements closely. "Quite often the woman doesn't even realize that it was anything but a slightly late, heavier-than-usual period. It's why it used to be traditional to not announce a pregnancy for the first three months, until most of the danger of a miscarriage had passed." She paused to put the stone away. "But so far as I can tell, this one at least, is just a perfectly ordinary one, with no unusual causes. There isn't even as much magic leaking out around her as I would have expected."

Elias looked up, concerned. "She was hemorrhaging it rather badly earlier; it's partly why I sent for you. Where's it gone?" He glared at the window, the curtains dark with the flitting shadows of the ariels clustering outside despite the newly-laid wards firmly shutting them out.

"It's not them, it's me," Ruth supplied. "I've been eating her leaking magic and feeding it back into her again."

"Is it helping?"

"It does seem to be," Shannon cautiously allowed. "She doesn't seem to be as firmly out as I might expect, given her medical history. Please keep it up if you can, Ruth. And you, Elias," she turned to him, "Keep treating her for the blood loss—lots of liquids, iron-rich foods—and let her rest. Treat her pain symptomatically, but nothing that will thin her blood or interfere with clotting, please." She packed her few tools away into her bag. "I'll check in with her again in the morning, but call me back sooner if she takes a turn for the worse, of course, or if the bleeding doesn't start to taper off in the next few hours."

Elias nodded, but did not look up; his gaze was fixed on Chise.

"And Elias… Give her a month or so to heal before you try again—let her have one regular period, please, just to be sure everything is ready to go again. But you _can _try again, and you will. All right? There's nothing to indicate at this point that there's any kind of fundamental incompatibility. Sometimes… these things just happen."

"Thank you, Doctor," he replied, his voice distant. "I will see you tomorrow."

For a moment, Shannon seemed about to say more; but apparently thinking better of it, she simply nodded and gathered up her bag, following Silky's gesture to the door. The brownie softly closed it behind them.

Wordlessly, Elias curled up beside his sleeping wife, and gathered her into his arms.

* * *

_A/N: Still off visiting my family in BC so again, might be a delay until the next chapter; but then, I managed to bang this out in a day on my phone, so I guess there's still hope!_


	7. Chapter 7

_A/N: __Good lord, that took too long to write! My apologies!I I SWEAR I haven't and won't abandon it! ~Kryss_

* * *

Chise pulled back from her goodnight snuggle to look up at Elias, propped up on pillows above her. "I think I'm ready to start trying again," she smiled.

Elias regarded her with some concern. "Are you sure?" he asked.

"Yes; I'm fully recovered, and the timing is right, so, you know… Any time you're feeling up to it, the next forty-eight hours would be particularly good…"

"No, I mean…" he trailed off. Pulling her back into his arms, he gave her a loving nuzzle. "You know I am always 'up to it' with you. But…" He hesitated, before asking softly, "Do you still want to do this? To—to try?"

"What, for a baby? Of course!" Chise laughed, then sobered. "Do you? I mean, don't you? Are you having—are you having second thoughts?" She deflated slightly; he held her tighter. "I mean, I guess we could talk about it more…"

"No! No, I am quite happy to have a child with you! I do want this, Chise! I just—I just don't want to see you in pain again. I mean, ever; but certainly not because of me."

"Because of _us _, Elias," she murmured, squeezing him back. "But it _is _a part of the process of having a baby. I'm going to hurt, sometimes. I'm going to feel fat and bloated, and my feet will ache, and I'll probably be nauseous and want to eat weird and disgusting things, and of course there's the actual labour…"

"Don't remind me."

" _But _." She pulled back again, smiling up at him, her eyes full of love. "You will rub my feet when they hurt, and tell me how beautiful I still am, and Silky will make me all the things I am craving, no matter how weird and disgusting they are, and you and Ruth will _not _say anything about how weird or disgusting it looks—"

_Hey!_

"—and _yes _, giving birth will hurt. And I'm not particularly looking forward to any of that stuff either. But Elias," and she nuzzled his cheek, "It is a small price to pay, and one that I pay willingly, to have a baby with you. To have _your _child, Elias. To have _our _child."

"Can you, though?" he asked softly. " _Can _we have a child together?"

"Well… I couldn't have had a miscarriage without being pregnant in the first place, could I?" She squeezed him tightly; it was a difficult topic for them still, and she was afraid that mentioning it might hurt him. But she wanted to offer him hope. "So we can at least conceive, right? And that's the first step."

"Mm. That might actually be the _result _of the first step."

"Oh?" She trailed a hand down his stomach with a cheeky grin. "And what would Step One be?"

"I think you know very well what Step One would be, Chise," he said archly.

"Is it… insert Tab A into Slot B?"

"Oh, so that's how it's going to be, is it?" He wiggled his fingers into her armpits, making her squeal and squirm.

"—Repeat as needed?" she gasped between giggles.

"You are going to pay for that terrible, terrible joke," he growled, pinning her down and ticking her mercilessly.

* * *

Again, each day was carefully crossed off the calendar at sundown. Days became a week, then two, then…

Elias glanced up from his book as Ruth wandered in to top up a side plate with more biscuits from the stack on the coffee table. "Is she still marking?"

"Yeah; she thinks she'll be done in time for supper, though—_ugh_." Ruth moaned and staggered, nearly dropping the plate. Elias leapt to his feet in alarm.

"Chise?"

"Dizzy…" Ruth clutched one-handed at his head and half-sat, half-fell onto the sofa.

Alarmed, Elias dashed upstairs to his wife's old bedroom. "Chise!"

He flung open the door, and she smiled wanly up at him from the bed. "I'm alright, Elias," she assured him, her paleness belying her words. "I just felt a bit queer all of a sudden and had to lie down. I'm feeling better now."

He sat beside her, careful not to jostle her, and gently stroked her hair from her forehead. "You don't look better."

"No, I really am feeling a bit firmer." And sure enough, the colour was returning to her face as she struggled to sit up.

Elias scooted back slightly, but regarded her skeptically. "Your forehead is clammy."

"I know. But I really am feeling better now." She sniffed.

"You've been working too hard."

Chise dug out a handkerchief as she sniffed again, and blew her nose. "I haven't, really! Ask Ruth!" She wiped her nose, and Elias stared at the white cotton in alarm. A tracing of red spattered across it.

"No…"

Chise's eyes widened at the blood, and she wiped at her nose again as Ruth burst into the room. "What's wrong?"

Elias scrambled to his feet in a panic, and swept her into his arms. "We need to get her to The Anthill, now!" he barked, pushing past Ruth and racing for the stairs.

"Elias, I'm okay! Elias!" Chise struggled to escape his frantic embrace. "I swear! Look, the bleeding's already stopped! I'm okay!"

Ruth finally managed to get ahead of him downstairs as the poor magus struggled to don his robe while maintaining his hold on his wife. "Elias! Elias, she really is okay now. I promise!"

Gradually his frantic flailing slowed, and he allowed her to slide to her feet. "You are alright?"

"I am!" Chise hugged him tight before reaching up to help tug his voluminous sleeves up over his shoulders.

"The bleeding really has stopped?" His eyes narrowed at her.

"Yes! Look!" She blew her nose again, albeit gently. "And it was only a few drops anyways." She showed him the small stain. He took the hanky from her, eyeing it critically, before extending his tongue to carefully taste the blood. His head tilted.

"...I don't know why, I _promise _I haven't pushed myself too hard or been skipping meals; I was just sitting there marking and—"

"I know why," he interrupted her, absent-mindedly returning the hanky. "I know this taste." His eyes met hers, curving into a smile.

Her own widened. "Are you sure?" she breathed.

"I am. You may confirm it with Shannon if you so wish; but I already know." He swung her into the air. "My wife is pregnant!"

* * *

_A/N: __In movies etc, the first sign of pregnancy is *always* morning sickness, but in real life it's just a common, but not ubiquitous, symptom. I was brutally nauseous with my first kid, but barely at all with my second. I had dizzy spells early on with both, however, and for some weird reason, my earliest and most reliable pregnancy indicator has always been spontaneous nosebleeds._

_I've also missed a period or two just from stress. As with all things, best to check with your doctor if you want to be sure—especially if you don't have a magical, blood-tasting husband!_


	8. Chapter 8

Chise retched again and moaned weakly, leaning back against Elias's comforting bulk.

Silky appeared in the bathroom's doorway, bearing a gently-steaming teacup. Elias accepted it from her and sniffed. "Ginger, my love. Try and have a sip."

Chise obeyed. "I'm so sorry, Silver," she said apologetically. "You _know_ how much I love your Sunday roasts! It's just—when the oven door opened, the smell just—I don't know if it was the beef, or the parsnips—" She stopped suddenly, and gulped at the tea.

Silky patted her shoulder in commiseration.

"_How_ long does this last?" Ruth asked mournfully from her shadow.

Chise was limp in her husband's embrace, head hanging down as she focused on her breathing.

Elias answered absently as he gently rubbed her back. "From what I've read, it depends on the pregnancy. Often it only strongly affects the mother in the first trimester; but some women don't get nauseous at all. Some few are nauseous for the whole thing. There's really no way to know."

"Being a human female seems deeply unpleasant all 'round," Ruth muttered in disgust.

Chise groaned wholehearted agreement.

* * *

Within a few weeks, though, her general morning malaise had faded to the point that it was only triggered by certain smells, most of which, happily, she was able to avoid. Parsnips, though, remained an unfortunate, but avoidable, adversary.

Foods she could actually stomach, however, were another story. Most fruits and vegetables seemed to sit fine, so long as they were crispy; but meats…

"Chise, you _have_ to try to eat it! Even just a bite! You need the protein!"

"I know, Elias! It's just that even the thought of it…" She grimaced. "Believe me, I'd love to have some."

"Dogs need protein, too," Ruth muttered, pushing his baked beans about his plate. Seeing the thick, tender-looking pork chop on the mage's plate wasn't helping his mood. But they'd learned that, unfortunately, if something wasn't going to sit well, then it wasn't going to sit well for either of them, and it didn't really matter which of them ate it.

The Silver Lady sighed, gathering their plates up, and scraped them off into the scraps bucket. At least the chickens had no hesitations about it!

* * *

Chise was disconsolately munching the last of her buttered toast the next morning when Angelica arrived. "Aw, the babe's a picky eater, is she?" she commiserated. "Althea was the same way. It was months before I could eat anything but fish!"

"I can't even eat fish," Chise grumbled, donning her coat.

"How do you know the baby's a girl?" Ruth asked, curious.

"Oh, this early they're all girls," Angelica replied airily. "Don't worry, Chise; we'll find you something you can stomach in town—no offence, Silky!"

The brownie sniffed a bit and disappeared into the back.

"Right, then; we're off," Angelica smiled reassurance at Elias, who was hovering in the hallway behind them. "Don't worry; we'll take good care of her, and you _know_ I mean it. She'll be home this evening."

"And you can come back sooner if you get too tired," said Elias, fiddling with his ring. "Or contact me, and I'll come and get you." He gave Chise a tender nuzzle as she hugged him goodbye, and added, _sotto voce_, "Perhaps I should come along after all."

"I'll be fine," she smiled up at him as he tenderly brushed a lock of hair back from her face. "I'll see you soon."

Outside, the sun promised a bright and cheerful day, despite the autumnal nip in the air. Chise took a deep, cleansing breath as Ruth shifted into his canine form, happily snuffling through the fallen leaves.

As they set off down the path to the bus stop, Angelica tucked her arm through Chise's elbow, and asked companionably, "So, what sort of things _can_ you eat..?"

* * *

And thank goodness they'd discovered she could eat curries, Chise reflected, helping herself to a third piece of naan. She rather suspected that Elias was growing somewhat tired of them, though; a good third of his dinner still lay untouched on his plate.

"Do you want the rest of your chicken, Elias?" She asked, and the mage good-naturedly pushed his plate to her.

Her steady improvement over the past month or so since her stomach had finally settled down, and her appetite had increased, was noticeable, he reflected, as was her apparent preference for _his_ food, rather than seconds of her own. He had taken to leaving a little extra on his plate for her.

Elias rested his chin on his interlaced fingers, elbows on the table, and regarded her fondly. The hollows of her cheeks had filled out again; her lovely green eyes were bright and cheerful; and her hair shone. She had even gained a little weight, and as much as he had always loved her form, he was developing a growing appreciation for her increased curviness. Even her skin felt different, smoother, and somehow even softer.

"It looks to be a lovely evening, Chise," he said softly; "Would you like to take a walk after dinner? Even just around the garden, if that's all you're up to?"

"I'd love to," she smiled at him, and his heart fluttered, as it did each time she did so. She stood, gathering the empty plates. "Just let me help Silky with the dishes."

The Brownie, however, took the plates from her, setting them aside, and turned her about, giving her a firm push towards the doorway.

"_Gentle_ exercise, Chise," Ruth reminded her. "You know if you're on your feet doing the dishes that you won't have the energy for a walk afterwards, not with how tired you get in the evenings."

"But I don't want to leave Silky all alone with the washing up!" she protested, as Elias wrapped an arm about her shoulders, and gently propelled her into the hallway.

"I'll stay and help her," Ruth gallantly offered, but Silky pushed him out of her kitchen, as well. She knew perfectly well how much the Grim loved his walks.

* * *

Chise was halfway down the stairs when she heard the hushed voices in the kitchen. She froze, one hand still tangled in her hair, mussed from her mid-morning nap. They weren't expecting any visitors; but surely customers would be in the sitting room, and not Silky's inner sanctum?

A spoon clinked gently against a teacup as she crept the rest of the way down, and cautiously peeked around the edge of the doorway.

"Ah, here she is!" Angelica smiled widely as she spotted her, and Silky bustled over to usher her to the head of the table, where pink and blue balloons floated above the chair.

Alice gave her a hug as she settled into the seat, saying, "Congratulations! When's the due date?"

"Um… We have… no idea? What's all this?" She looked in confusion to Silky who beamed, and poured her a cup of tea.

"It's your baby shower, of course!" said Angelica, embracing her as well. "Didn't think you would get away without one, did you?"

"I hadn't really thought about it," Chise confessed, sipping her tea. "But it's lovely to see you both!"

"We invited Stella, too, of course, but she's in the middle of her midterms," said Alice, reaching under the table. "But she sent you this." She plunked a gift bag, overflowing with pastel tissue paper, onto the table.

"Let's leave the presents for after the sandwiches." Angelica tucked the bag away again. "We can do it in the sitting room; there's no room for it here."

"Goodness," laughed Chise, "How many did you bring? We've pretty well got things sorted, I think."

"Oh, we only brought a few non-essentials you might not have considered," Angelica grinned, as Alice smirked. "Have your lunch, and then we'll get into them."

"Where're Ruth and Elias?" Chise asked, looking around. "Aren't they having any lunch?"

"Oh, guys don't want to be bothered with a baby shower." Alice flapped a dismissive hand. "They're off doing their own thing somewhere."

_Ruth? Is everything okay?_

_We're fine; we just went down to the village,_ the Grim silently responded._ We'll return in about two hours._

"They went for a walk," Angelica elaborated. "Ruth likes the exercise and we didn't want Elias making faces at us from the doorway."

Chise giggled. "He doesn't make faces!"

Alice snorted. "Bullshit. He totally does and you know it." She took a big bite of a tiny, triangular sandwich, and mumbled around the mouthful, "Still can't believe you guys are actually bumping uglies."

"Alice, you _know_ we've been married for years."

"Yeah, yeah, but, _you_ know…" She swallowed, reaching for another sandwich.

"You were at our wedding!"

"Yeah, but, I mean…"

"You were my maid of honour!"

Alice sighed. "I just… try to not think about it, okay?"

Chise looked helplessly at Angelica, who shrugged. "Not saying anything against the two of you, love, you know that." She reached for the plate piled high with sandwiches herself. "Just a little strange sometimes to think about Ainsworth actually, you know… banging you."

Alice gave a slight shudder. "I try _really hard_ to not think about it."

"Well, we've been doing it for _ages_… " Chise grinned mischievously into her teacup.

"That's great."

"He's _really_ good, too."

"_Super_ happy for you."

"I mean, his tongue's got to be at _least_ half a metre—"

"Right!" Angelica stood abruptly, jostling the table slightly in her haste. "Presents time it is!"

Chise just laughed.

* * *

A/N: Thanks to NaNoWriMo 2019 and a friend who roped me into the local scene for getting most of this chapter (and the next) finished! In fact, I got enough written that I'm breaking it into a couple of chapters- maybe even three? We'll see.

My plan for these chapters about her pregnancy is to do them as a series of short anecdotes, same as this one. I'm trying to get the next chapter out within the next two or three weeks. Wish me luck! ^^


	9. Chapter 9

Chise huffed and grunted as she bent over to tie her boots. She finally straightened, panting. "Sorry," she said wryly, "this is going to take a bit."

She awkwardly tried to reach her laces again; then, when that didn't work, tried to pull her foot onto her lap.

Elias watched her puff and blow for a bit, before crouching at her feet, gently pushing her hands aside, and tugging her laces tight.

"It's like having a ball in my lap," she grumbled with a huff. "I can't fold myself around it; it doesn't want to compress."

"I suppose that's to be expected," Elias said calmly, carefully placing her booted foot down and lifting the other. "Babies bounce, not squish."

"I'm pretty sure you've got that backwards," Chise corrected, with mild alarm. "They __don't __bounce, and they __do __squish; promise me you won't try either!"

"No bouncing the baby?" Elias cocked his head, sitting back on his heels. "I understood bouncing one's baby on one's knee to be a traditional paternal bonding activity."

"Well, I suppose a knee would be fine," she allowed, tugging his arm. Elias obligingly stood, and helped her up. "But not the floor!"

"What about squishing them?" He asked, pupils curving in amusement.

"No squishing; no bouncing—"

"—Except on knees," he inserted, ushering her out the door.

"—__Except __on knees; just, generally… just __no__. —Give me your arm."

Elias bent a solicitous elbow. "It's not terribly slippery, my love."

"'Not very slippery' to __you __is still pretty terrifyingly slippery to __me __right now," she pointed out. "I __really __don't fancy taking a tumble."

"Definitely not!" agreed Elias, wrapping a firmer arm about her as they headed off down the path.

He slowed his stride to hers, of course; but she was slower than usual, even slower than he thought caution ought to dictate. And her face seemed… strained. He stopped. "Chise? Is something wrong?"

"No, it's nothing."

"Chise…"

"Her feet hurt," Ruth interjected from her shadow. "And her boots are too tight."

"It's nothing! I'm fine."

Elias huffed. "Chise…"

"I'm fine!"

"__Chise! __Stop it." Elias made to turn them around, but Chise planted her feet.

"I… don't want to go in," she said in a small voice.

"But your feet hurt. And it's slippery."

"But that's no reason to stop!"

"It is."

"Elias—"

"__Chise__."

"__Elias__." She ran a distracted hand through her hair, knocking her hat askew. "I __like __our walks. I like the exercise and the fresh air and just… __being __with you." She sighed. "__Yes__, my feet hurt, and my back; but it's not that bad. I can still handle it. And I don't know how much longer that'll be true for." She took his hands, and looked up at him earnestly. "So right now, while I still __can__, I want to keep going on our walks. Even if it means my feet hurt a bit."

Ruth gave a muttered grumble from her shadow. Elias cocked his head.

"It would seem that you hurt more than 'a bit'."

Chise squeezed his hands. "Believe me, I've had worse." She smiled wryly.

"I know. I was there." He huffed, and was silent for a long moment. "All right," he said, finally; "What if we go for a __slow__, __brief __walk, until you get tired or too uncomfortable—__which you will inform me of ____**immediately**__—at which point I will carry you home."

"All right."

"And we will get you some new footwear."

"Okay."

"And when we get home I will rub your feet. And back."

"Yes, dear." Chise tucked her hand back through the crook of his arm, and they turned to continue their walk.

"And if your feet hurt," he added softly, "You will let me know __before __we leave home."

Chise sighed. "Assume that if I'm standing, my feet hurt," she muttered.

"Chise…"

"Look, it's normal. As I get closer to term, my body will produce the hormone relaxin, which will allow my pelvis to expand to pass the baby more easily." She sounded like she was quoting something. "However, this targets __all __my joints, allowing the joints in my feet to relax as well, most noticeably resulting in them spreading, and my arches collapsing. They ought to go back to normal after the birth, though," she added.

"__We hope__," Ruth muttered darkly.

* * *

Chise was beginning to get drowsy, curled up on Elias's lap as he read to her, hearing Ruth's faint snores over the snap and crackle of the fire, when the oddest sensation made her sit up a bit and take notice.

"Chise?" Elias paused, inserting a finger into the book to mark their page, and tilted his head to more easily look at her. "Is something wrong?"

"No, shush, hang on," she said, distracted, as she focused on her abdomen, concentrating on listening to her body. She sat silent for a long moment, then—"There!" She looked up at Elias, giddy with excitement as she rubbed her belly. "I felt it! The baby moved!"

Elias's eyes flared brighter as his jaw parted, and he quickly put the book down to strip off his glove, placeholders forgotten. "Let me see!"

She slid his bare hand over a little bit, and held it in place with her own, as they both waited with bated breath. "There! Did you feel it?"

"No…" They sat still again.

"Ooh!" Chise giggled a bit. "It feels so strange. Try over here!"

Elias dutifully shifted his hand and waited in silence.

"Still nothing."

"Oh." Chise deflated a bit. "I suppose the books did say that I'd feel it before you could…"

"What does it feel like?"

Chise sat for a moment in thought, trying to find the words. "Sort of… sort of a very tiny fluttery feeling," she said finally. "A bit like a tiny bird just barely brushing me with its wings. Or maybe a butterfly." She sighed. "I wish you could feel it."

"I will be able to, eventually." Elias was silent for a long moment. "Can you still feel it? Is it still moving?"

Chise canted her own head, listening to her body once more. "I'm not sure…" She patted her belly. "Oop! There we go!" she grinned.

"There is something that I'd like to try," Elias said. He dissolved into shadow, dropping her from his lap to the cushion with a bit of a bump.

"Elias! A little warning next time, please!"

"Sorry," Elias said, eyes glowing red from his shadow on the floor. "Are you okay?"

"I'm okay," She confirmed. "But you scared me!"

"I'm sorry. But I wanted to try…" A shadowy tendril crept up her leg, and wound its way about her abdomen. "Do you mind?"

Chise felt his presence nudging slightly at the back of her mind. "Go ahead," she said, her anticipation rising. If he could take over her nervous system to speak to others, could he also use it to feel..?

They sat like that, motionless, waiting.

A flutter.

Elias leapt back in surprise, landing sprawled upon the rug and jostling Ruth awake. "I felt it!" he breathed, his eyes meeting hers in wonder as she grinned crazily. "I could feel it!"

"Feel what?" Ruth grumbled, putting his head back down. Suddenly he sprang to his feet, eyes wide with shock. "__What the heck was that?! __"

* * *

"Merry Christmas, Chise," Elias softly murmured, tousling her hair with a loving nuzzle. "Breakfast is ready. Sleep well?"

Chise moaned a sleepy protest from the warm depths of the bed as Ruth, curled snugly against her back, blearily raised his head. "Breakfast?" He sniffed the air. "Mmm, sausages!" He hopped down, stretching and giving himself a shake. "Come on, Chise! I'm starving!" He happily trotted out of the room.

"Guh, all right…" Chise managed to get an elbow propped beneath her, and to more or less lever herself onto her hands and knees, before pushing herself back into a sitting position. "I can barely bend forward anymore," she complained, scrubbing at her face, and pushing her hair back. "What's going to happen when I'm __really __fat?"

"You aren't fat now," Elias said mildly. "You're pregnant."

"I'm fat. I'm fat and gross. And I smell weird."

"Your belly swells with my child." Elias sounded __extremely __self-satisfied, Chise thought. "And your scent announces that, and compels my attention. My protection." He stepped back, hands still behind his back, as she threw back the covers and swung her legs over the side.

"I don't think I like my body announcing to everyone that I'm pregnant," she grumbled. "'Hey, look! Over here! It's a slow, fat, pregnant sleigh beggy! Come eat me!'" She paused, looking up at him. "Is that why I'm attracting even more attention from the neighbours than usual?"

Elias nodded. "I believe so. Magically speaking, your scent has always been attractive. But now it's all but irresistible." He leaned over to nuzzle her again. "Mind you, I have __always __found it so."

She nuzzled him back, caressing his jaw, and murmuring, "You've always smelled wonderful to me, too." She shifted closer to the edge of the bed and smiled up at him as he pulled back. "Help me up?"

"Not quite yet," he smiled. Finally bringing his hands forth, he held out a small, wrapped box to her. "Merry Christmas, my love."

Curious, Chise unwrapped and opened it, and gasped softly. Inside was a figurine of a delicate, densely-interwoven rose bush, each tiny leaf and petal exquisitely rendered in painted porcelain. Carefully, she lifted it out, only to see a large hollow in the side. Within, a russet little English robin sat plump and calm upon her nest, entwining branches curled protectively about her home. The whole thing was no taller than her thumb. She cradled it in her cupped hands, examining it in wonder.

Elias knelt in front of her, cradling her hands in his in turn. "It's from the Eighteenth Century," he said, a bit shyly. "I found it in an antique shop in London, and couldn't resist. It… reminded me of you. Of us."

"Elias, it's beautiful!" she breathed, her eyes, meeting his, glowing with joy. "I love it! It's perfect!" She kissed his muzzle, and snuggled as close to him as she could over their hands and her growing belly, giving a sigh of pure contentment. "It's perfect."

"Merry Christmas, my love."

"Merry Christmas."

* * *

"__No! __"

Elias jolted awake at the sound of his wife's anguished cry, half expecting the worst as he blearily took her in, sitting hunched over beside him, clutching her Teddy bear to her chest and sobbing as though her heart would break.

He was suddenly too terrified to speak, to ask what was the matter. Too terrified that he already knew the answer.

Ruth jumped up from his usual position at the foot of the bed, shifting to his human form on the fly. "Chise?" He sat beside her on the edge of the bed, putting a consoling arm around her. "What's wrong?"

She was crying too hard to speak, and only leaned into his embrace, sobbing harder.

Above her head, the Grim met the magus' eyes, and gave a brief, reassuring shake of his head.

Elias thought for a moment he might black out from sheer relief.

"Chise," he rumbled, stroking a gentle hand down her back, "Are you hurt?"

She shook her head, and managed to hiccough out, "It's— not— me, it's— it's—" She sat up, and held out her Teddy. "It's his __eye!"__ she wailed.

Sure enough, one round black button had pulled loose, and was dangling by a single thread.

"It—it got caught," she managed to choke out, "and I tried to pull it loose, and it—and it just came __off!"__ She trailed off with a despairing cry.

Elias was confused. "I can fix that," he pointed out. Ruth shot him a look.

"Nooo! Luh—look, the fuh-fabric __ripped! __He's __ruined!"__

Elias looked closer, and poked at the imprint the button had left in the plush fur. One or two of the weft threads may have broken, but it was hardly damaged beyond repair. Still… "I can darn it first, if you would like. The button will hide it. But I can still fix it."

But Chise only clutched the bear to her again, muffling her heartbroken sobs into its head.

He really could not understand why she was so devastated, but his bride was hurting, and that made his heart ache to comfort her, to make it all better. He pulled her into a hug, gently nuzzling her.

"Chise, it's all right," he soothed. "I know how much this upset you. But it was an accident, and it's not as bad as it looks. I promise you, I can repair it. It will look the same."

He rocked her, and stroked her hair and back, until she finally managed to calm down enough to say, "I know you can probably fix it. But it won't be the same! He—he was the first present you ever gave me—"

Elias opened his mouth to correct her, but meeting Ruth's flat stare wisely thought the better of it.

"—and my first Christmas present, and you made him just for me, and—and—"

"Chise…"

"__I'm going to be a bad mother!"__ She wailed.

"No, no, my darling, my love, you aren't; you aren't!" Elias lifted her onto his lap and pulled her tightly to him, his own heart breaking slightly at her anguish. However minor he might think its cause, it was apparent that her pain was very real.

Which was why, good husband that he tried to be, he found himself squinting at a needle and thread at five o'clock in the morning, repairing his erstwhile gift to his wife, while her big brother cuddled and soothed her.

No one so upset at causing such a minor injury, especially accidentally, could ever be anything less than a caring mother!

* * *

They did try prenatal classes, they really did. All the new baby books suggested them, and Chise took things pretty much as read that, as first-time parents, the extra, hands-on information would be of use to them. And Shannon, in her biweekly check-ups, confirmed that.

"The breathing techniques can help, apparently," she added; "—although I suspect it's as much a matter of distracting the mother by giving her something else to focus on and ground her, and to help the father to feel like he's more actively involved in the birthing process, as any kind of actual pain control."

"So they are a kind of meditation technique?" Elias asked, as she palpated Chise's stomach, feeling the size and position of the baby.

"More or less," the doctor confirmed, pulling out a measuring tape. "Besides, they'll give you some good tips on breastfeeding techniques and things."

"Can't __you __do that?"

"I'm more of a surgeon than an obstetrician," Shannon said, measuring down the front of Chise's belly. "And I don't have any breastfeeding experience personally. It is something that both mother and baby need to learn to do, so it's probably a good idea to at least get some tips on it." She gave Elias a stern look. "And you—make sure you go along with her! The classes are for __both __parents, not just the mother."

Elias was more dismissive of the idea of the classes, but gamely donned his glamour to go along. If his wife was determined to attend the foolish things, then, no, he certainly wasn't going to let her go by herself.

"...And so that's why we say—What do we say, Mummies and Daddies?"

"'Breast is best!'" the rest of the class cheerfully chorused. Chise raised her hand.

"Yes?" The perky blonde instructor looked her way. "...'Cheesy', was it?"

"'Chise'. It's Japanese. Um…. I've heard that some women can have difficulties making enough milk, or getting the baby to latch on—"

"Yes, that can happen. Just remember to drink lots and lots of liquids, relax, and practise the techniques we're learning today."

"All right, but…"

"Yes?"

"Well, if that doesn't work, or if the baby isn't getting enough milk, what would be the best kind of formula—"

To a one, the class gasped. "No, no, you can't use __formula __," one of the mothers hissed, looking horrified. "It doesn't have __any __of the antibodies—"

"Now, Chlöe," the instructor, whose name Elias still couldn't remember, hastily cut in. "You're quite correct. We do say 'Breast is best' for a __reason__, dear. It's true that formulas have gotten a lot better than they used to be; but still, human breastmilk is an __incredibly __complicated liquid, and is __perfectly __formulated by your __own body __to __perfectly __meet your baby's needs." She stopped with a slightly satisfied look.

Much to Elias's inner pride, and his own slightly malicious satisfaction, his bride refused to back down. "I agree," she said firmly, "And of __course __we'll try __our very best __to breastfeed exclusively. We've already got a breast pump at home and everything. But, should even that fail, is there one type of formula that is better than the others? Or a type we should particularly avoid?"

The instructor sighed slightly, and had just opened her mouth to reply when another mother-to-be cut in. "Oh, don't worry; you'll be fine!" she cheerfully assured them. "It's just a matter of practise, and relaxing. If your milk isn't letting down, you just have to not get stressed out, and try to relax more. Have a nice cup of chamomile tea."

It was Elias's turn to look concerned. "Chamomile tea isn't always safe for babies," he said, the hazel eyes of his glamour widening. "Nor for pregnant women."

"No, it's fine; it's __herbal,"__ the mum responded.

"So is tobacco," he retorted.

"Well, that's different!" she argued. "You don't __smoke __the chamomile!"

"So tobacco would be safe in a tea? Hmm."

"Please, __please,__ mums and dads!" The instructor held up her hands in a placating gesture, and shot Elias a Look. "Moving on! Now, nappies. Has anyone here ever put a nappy on a baby before?"

Chise raised her hand. The instructor sighed, this time more heavily. "__Yes? __"

"I… have?"

In the end, they decided it really would be best for all concerned if they didn't go to a second one.

* * *

"Elias?"

Elias slowly roused himself, finding Chise wide awake beside him, staring blankly at the ceiling in the dark. "Mm? Chise? What is it?"

She groped for his hand and held it tightly, but didn't look at him. "Elias… Will you promise me something?"

"Promise you what?"

"Promise me—promise me that if something goes wrong," she whispered, "Promise me that you'll save the baby."

Elias gave her hand a reassuring squeeze, and nuzzled her lovingly. "Chise, you know I would do everything in my power for you both. You have no need to worry."

She squeezed his hand back, but shifted fretfully. "No, I mean...I mean, if it comes down to one of us or the other, if you—if you have to choose?" She looked up at him, eyes wide and desperate. "If you have to choose between who to save, save our baby."

"Chise—"

"__Please__."

"__Chise__." He sat up, rubbed at his face, and gathered her into his arms. "Chise. My love. I don't want to ever have to make that choice." He paused for a moment, searching his heart—then realized that he didn't have to. "But—I can't make you that promise."

She sat upright, distressed. "No, Elias, you have to! I don't matter! You need to—"

"No."

"But Elias—"

"__No__. I won't lose you, Chise. I can't. If it comes down to a choice between the two of you, I will choose you."

"But—"

"__No__. We can have another child, if something goes wrong. We can try again. Or we can adopt. But I __cannot __simply find another Chise." His intent gaze held hers, willing her to understand, to accept. "You are special, and unique, and irreplaceable. You know that. You know what I would sacrifice to keep you alive."

"But even your own child?"

"If the choice comes down to our child, unborn, unknown, that might not even survive outside of your body, and __my wife __of __fifteen years__, yes. —I would hope that it would never come to that, that we would never have to choose between one life and another. And if something does go wrong, I will do everything in my power to keep you both safe.

"But, __should __the worst come to the worst, and the choice lies between saving you __or __the child, I will choose __you__. I will __always __choose you. There will be no point in arguing with me about it, do you understand? I will try and save you both. But I will __always __choose you."

"Then… Just promise me you will do everything you can to save the baby as well?"

"Oh, Chise," he breathed, pulling her back into his arms and holding her as tightly as he dared, "Of course! I promise. __Never__ doubt that."

* * *

It was the pressure on her bladder that woke her up, __again,__ barely an hour after she'd come back to bed, she confirmed in irritation, glancing at the glowing hands of the clock. She sighed in heavy frustration, and started her well-practised routine of rolling over and hoisting her heavily-pregnant body over and up.

Elias, who seemed to be growing used to her regular thrashings-about, placed a large hand against her lower back and gave her a slight, helpful shove, lending her the impetus to roll up into a sitting position on the side of the bed.

"Thanks," she whispered, not quite positive he was actually awake. Glancing back, she saw his eyes were still dim. __Must be nice, __she thought, struggling to lever herself to her feet.

Wrapping herself in her dressing gown, she blearily made her way to the stairs, navigating them carefully in the dimness, clinging to the railing. Silky appeared at the bottom, as usual, reaching up to lend a supportive hand on her elbow as she descended the last few steps.

The Brownie raised an inquisitive eyebrow, and Chise shook her head. "Jus' gotta pee again," she mumbled, and headed for the bathroom. The Brownie sighed, and waited by the foot of the stairs to help her mistress back up them.

When the baby came, she'd be ready!

* * *

_A/N: Teddy troubles loosely based on real life. Pregnancy hormones are a hell of a thing and I do not miss them. It was like having six years of teenage hormones compressed into nine months! D: Absolutely crazy-making._


	10. Chapter 10

A/N:_ This chapter goes into quite a bit of detail during the labour, so if that bothers you, please just skip to the Author's Note at the end, where I've given a non-descriptive summary so you're caught up for the next chapter! ~Kryss_

* * *

Chise had just gotten comfortable again, the pillows rearranged around her swollen belly, her breathing slowing again in the deep stillness of the night, when she was struck by a sudden flash of pain. It was so intense it almost took her breath away; but so brief and different from anything she had ever felt before that she almost wondered if she had dreamed it. Like a bolt of lightning, it split her night, dazzling her with its intensity, before instantly fading away to nothing again.

__Could this be labour? __ She wondered. __Is it time? __ She was still tired, though. She waited, listening to her body, staring into the dark, wondering what was going to happen next.

Nothing, apparently. She closed her eyes and had drifted off when another sudden flash, somewhere deep in her belly, in a place she had never really felt before, once again jolted her awake. She glanced over at the alarm clock peacefully ticking away on her bedside table. It had been around half an hour; it was still the wee hours of the night. Well, she didn't need to deal with any of it until the contractions were five minutes apart. She closed her eyes again, and tried to rest.

By the time the third flash hit, around a half an hour after that, she was pretty sure that the pains __were __contractions. She was also getting slightly annoyed by the way they kept waking her up. Still, it would likely be many hours yet until the main event, and she likely wouldn't get much rest for quite a while after that, not with a new baby around. Getting as comfortable as her belly would allow, she once again tried to sleep.

By the time the contractions were fifteen minutes apart she gave up on rest. She contemplated Elias, a silent, warm, breathing presence beside her. His eyes were still dark. He was fast asleep, and would be for hours yet; he was decidedly __not __a morning person. She idly wondered, not for the first time, if he might actually be nocturnal. Certainly, if left to his own devices, he was rarely in bed before midnight, nor up before noon. Well, let him sleep; there was nothing to be done at this stage except for waiting. She ghosted a fond kiss over his shoulder, and slid as quietly and carefully out of the bed as she could manage.

Ruth met her in the hallway, shifting to his human form as she tied her dressing gown. "It's time, isn't it?" he asked, his eyes alert and concerned despite his slightly dishevelled state.

"I suppose," she murmured, glancing at her closed bedroom door before tip-toeing towards the stairs. "I mean, it won't be for hours yet, but yes."

"It feels strange." He rested a hand over his abdomen. "Like I've strained a muscle I've never used before."

Chise nodded. That was a good description. She had expected it to feel much like menstrual cramps, only worse; but it was surprisingly different, as well as much stronger. "This is supposed to be the easy part," she said. "If it gets too bad, I want you to go into my shadow, alright?"

He rested his hands on her shoulders. "You know I'll be here for you. The pain won't stop me."

She smiled warmly at him, giving her big brother's hand a squeeze. "I know. But there won't be very much you can do for me when it gets bad, and there's no point in you having to go through it as well. I'll feel your presence either way; you'll still be there for me."

He looked like he wanted to argue; but only said, "All right. —Do you want anything right now?"

"A warm bath, and a cup of tea."

* * *

She was soaking in the bath and sipping her third cup, idly scooping warm water over the flannel draped over her belly to capture the heat, and feeling rather civilized, when Elias rushed in, still tucking his shirt into his trousers. "Chise! It's time? Why didn't you wake me?"

"I'm fine, Elias. There's no need to worry. I woke up; but I thought there was no reason __you __couldn't still get some rest. It'll be hours, yet."

Silky, peering around the corner of the screen, nodded confirmation as she handed Elias his own teacup.

He looked a little mollified as he absently accepted it, and leaned over to feel her forehead, brushing her hair back before giving her a gentle nuzzle. "You are not in too much distress?"

She smiled up at him. "I'm __fine__, Elias. The contractions hurt; but the water helps a lot." She winced, feeling another one start, and gripped the sides of the tub, concentrating on her breathing—in through her nose; out through her mouth—as the pain washed over and through her. Elias took her hand, and she squeezed it tightly, unable to suppress a grunt of pain. It ebbed, finally, and she tried to relax again, gasping a bit.

"How far apart are they?"

"Seven minutes," Ruth said, coming around the far side of the tub. "Chise. Have some apple." He held out a thin slice and she obediently took it, savouring the firm, sweet flesh. "We've been monitoring her carefully, and keeping her in snacks and liquids. She hurts when they hit; but she's okay. She's still strong, just tired. Sleepy," he clarified, at Elias's sudden glance. "They woke her up around two."

"I wonder if we should call Shannon," Elias mused. Silky looked doubtful.

"She did say to call her when they hit five minutes apart, and I'm not there yet."

"She might not be there for hours more," Ruth added.

"Very well." Elias settled into the kitchen chair Ruth had placed beside her. "Then we will wait until they are."

"You should go and have some breakfast," Chise said.

"No."

"You need to keep your strength up, too," she pointed out.

"I need to stay with you." His tone brooked no argument. Chise sighed.

"All right. Will you eat if we bring you something?"

"Yes."

Silky nodded and vanished back to the kitchen. Ruth followed, reappearing a moment later with another chair.

"Shall I read to you?" Elias asked, as Ruth settled in as well.

"Yes, please." Chise wasn't sure how much attention she'd be able to pay to him, but reasoned that reading to her would help keep him occupied, and feeling involved, and might distract her a bit. She was pretty sure that the worst part of labour, so far at least, was the boredom. She was tired, but the cramps kept her from resting, and threw off her train of thought. It was monotonous __being __her just then; she couldn't imagine it would be any better __watching __her.

"Very well." Elias disappeared for a minute. She could faintly hear him rummaging about the shelves of the study before he reappeared, a large, old book in his hand. Settling into the chair again, he opened it. "Once upon a time there was a poor peasant who had so many children that he did not have enough of either food or clothing to give them. Pretty children they all were, but the prettiest was the youngest daughter, who was so lovely there was no end to her loveliness..."

* * *

Shannon arrived mid-morning. Chise's contractions were much stronger, and the warmth of the water no longer mitigated them. She no longer felt so civilized. Her contractions were no longer brief flashes of pain, but lingering, awful spasms, the aftershocks of the one barely passing before the next one started.

"Isn't it time yet?" she groaned, splayed on her old bed as Shannon examined her for the third time in as many hours.

"No, you're only dilated about five centimetres," the fairy doctor calmly informed her. "You've got a ways to go yet."

"You can do it," Ruth earnestly encouraged her, helping her to struggle upright again. He sat beside her, one arm about her shoulders, as he gave her hand an encouraging squeeze. "You've been hurt way worse than this before!"

Chise groaned and winced, bracing herself against another damned contraction. "Yeah, but—__eurgh __—only—only get— __nng! __—stabbed once each time—"

"Remember your breathing, Chise," Shannon chided her, taking her other hand. Chise grabbed it back in a death grip. "Come on, now. In through your nose; your __nose__, Chise—out through your mouth. That's it. Again. Focus on your breathing. In... out. In... out. There we go." She gently pulled her hand back as Chise's grip slacked as the contraction eased, and gave it a discrete shake. "That's right. Ruth, how are you doing?"

The familiar's face was pale, his hair sticking to his damp forehead, but his eyes were determined. "I'm—I'm all right. I can do this."

"Why don't you go into her shadow for a while and rest? She's got hours to go, yet."

"__Hours..? __"

"Go ahead, Ruth." Chise smiled wanly, her own cheeks pale beneath shadowed eyes. "Maybe Elias can come back in again?" She added hopefully, glancing at Shannon. The poor man had become increasingly frantic with each increase in her pains, to the point that he had been having difficulties maintaining his form. He was banished outside for everyone's safety.

"If Ruth promises to rest, and so long as he behaves himself. Is he still in the garden?"

Elias was indeed in the garden, and too large to re-enter the house—and looking unhappy, his long, fishy tail coiled tightly about himself. He rose to his hands as soon as he saw Chise awkwardly making her way through the conservatory door, supported on either side by Ruth and Shannon. He fidgeted; but did not rush over.

"I didn't want to knock you over," he explained as they brought her to him. "How are you?" The tightness in his voice belied his calm tone.

Chise winced and sank into a half-crouch, rubbing her belly as another contraction peaked. Elias hovered over her, anxious; as soon as she relaxed again he swept her into his arms, and carefully settled her into his nested coils. She snuggled into his warm embrace and sighed.

"I'm okay, Elias," she murmured. "It just... hurts."

"Why don't you get her a blanket, Ruth?" Shannon suggested, adding, as the familiar dashed off, "—and if you're warm enough, I'll go and fetch my kit from upstairs. __If __you can stay calm this time, Elias!"

He nodded, contrite, and wordlessly tucked her head under his chin.

"He'll be alright now," Chise reassured her, giving him a loving look as she stroked his jaw. "Won't you?"

Elias inhaled deeply, sighed, and nodded again. "I'm sorry. I was scared."

"And that's understandable; but she needs you to be strong and calm for her right now. All right?" Shannon's voice was firm, but not unkind. "I know it's distressing for you to see her hurting and not be able to make it better, but I promise you, everything is perfectly normal. And I'm here, and monitoring everything closely. And so far I have no reason to be concerned. Okay?"

"I just wish I could give her something for the pain..."

"And so do I; but you know why we aren't. We don't know how the baby will react to it. Anything we give her will go straight through to them, too."

Ruth staggered back to them, a warm, fluffy blanket clutched to his chest. Silky trailed behind him, and gently took it from him as he sank into Chise's shadow. "I'm sorry, Chise," he gasped as she groaned through another contraction, his glowing red eyes in her shadow dim against the grass. "I—I just need..."

"It's—fine, Ruth." Chise gritted her teeth and squeezed Elias's massive finger so tightly that it must have hurt. "Rest."

Silky gently tucked the blanket about her, and as the contractions briefly eased, held a glass of cool lemonade to her lips.

* * *

The next several hours were something of a monotonous, pain-filled blur. Wave after wave swept over her as she cried out and writhed, helpless in their grip. Hot water bottles were placed against her belly and back, and refilled as they cooled, when her cries frightened away the woolly bugs that had come investigating. As she gasped for breath between contractions, Silky or Elias pressed liquids upon her, keeping her hydrated, helping to keep her strong. Silky and Shannon helped her back to the bathroom occasionally to pee, which in itself was a thoroughly miserable experience, her urine burning acid against her tearing, tender flesh. At least the back of the toilet gave her something firm to press against through the peaks of more endless contractions.

* * *

The sun was low in the sky, the wispy clouds taking on a rosy tint, when Chise started to feel an irresistible urge to push. "You're only nine centimetres still," Shannon commented, after investigating; "But I don't think they care. It looks like it's time. Push if you need to."

Lying on her back gave her nothing to push __against__. With Elias's careful help, she managed to roll to her knees, and draped her chest and arms over one large, smooth, warm coil. She could brace her feet against his tail behind her, and push back as hard as she wanted, without feeling like she was going to shove him over. She could feel the baby shift inside; __they __were getting fed up with the whole thing and wanted out too, she was sure of it.

"Not long now," Elias murmured to her as she gripped his hand for all she was worth, gently rubbing her aching lower back with the other. "You can do it, Chise. I'm here."

"You're doing great, Chise!" Shannon crouched behind her, keeping a close eye on the proceedings. "Just keep pushing!"

"I __am __pushing!" Chise snapped. She couldn't have __not __pushed if she wanted to. It was beyond an urge; it was just what her body was doing, now. __Pushing__.

The contractions were continuous, now, her world entirely the rhythmical, irresistible squeezing muscles of her uterus. She cried out in pain, gasping helplessly against the overwhelming tide.

"__Breathe__, Chise! Remember your breathing!" Someone was talking at her very loudly and she wished they'd fuck off. She was __busy__. "Breathe! In through your nose, out through your mouth. Come on, breathe with me..."

"__Fuck off! __"

Ruth's voice suddenly filled her mind, impossible to block out or ignore. __Breathe ____**in**____, Chise. In through your nose. Hold it—now out through your mouth. That's it. In through your nose... out through your mouth. That's right. In... Out. In... Out. That's right. I'm here.__

Breathing did not help the pain, did not ease it; but it did help her to keep her footing against the flood. She breathed in, breathed out in a long groan. Dimly she realized someone was pushing things around behind her, inside her.

__Try to not cry out, Chise, __Ruth said. __They want you to keep your strength for pushing__.

__I'll try, __she groused. __**You**____try not shouting!__

__I understand, __Ruth said wryly. __Breathe in... breathe out... I'm just the messenger__.

"Okay, that's got it," she vaguely heard Shannon say. "Okay, now, Chise, __push! __"

__Push!__

"I __am __pushing!"

She concentrated on bearing down with a will, trying to keep her breathing regular. Everything was all in a muddle; nothing else really existed except her abdomen and the burning ring of the end of her vagina as she desperately tried to squeeze what she was pretty sure was an actual watermelon out of it.

__Push!__

"Push!"

__**PUSH!**__

With a final heave and a gasping cry and a warm, wet gush, the watermelon finally—__finally__— slid out, leaving her limp and gasping for breath. The contractions had stopped. It was over.

She had done it.

She would have expected to all but pass out after such an ordeal, to be in agony; but while her poor, stretched, much-abused flesh ached, she instead felt a sudden rush of energy, of sheer __relief __at it being over. She felt better than she had in a __very __long time, months even. Since the start of her pregnancy. All the little annoying, uncomfortable twinges in her back and shoulders seemed to have vanished. She felt like she could have run a marathon. She struggled to sit up.

"No, Chise; rest now."

"I don't __need __to rest, Elias; I want to __see __them!"

Shannon finished wrapping the baby up in the tiny blanket Silky had handed her, and passed them over. Chise carefully cradled the tiny body in her arms, Elias's own arms about hers as she leaned back against him. He peered over her shoulder, his eyes bright.

"Chise, Elias; may I present to you your daughter," Shannon said, smiling hugely as she sat back and brushed the hair out of her eyes.

"She's so tiny," Elias marvelled. "How did something so small make your belly so huge?"

"It's not __all __just baby in there; you should know that!" Shannon chided. "The placenta alone is almost the same size as her, plus there's the amniotic fluid—plus, don't forget that her abdominal muscles are over it all, so you have to take __their __thickness into account as well..."

"She's so beautiful," Chise whispered. The tiny, four-limbed body was fluffing out into a soft, white fluff as she dried, pale skin peeking through the tiny pinfeathers covering her neck and the back of her skull—hornless, except for faint nubs, and shorter in the face than Elias's, but distinctly similar. A luminously pale tail wrapped up between her digitigrade hind legs to sit firm against her round little belly. Her tiny hands clasped tightly onto Elias's finger as he cautiously touched her.

"Do you really think so?" he murmured.

"Of course! Don't you?" Chise stared up at him, eyes wide.

"Of course __I __do," he replied distractedly, still staring at his daughter as she nuzzled his fingertip. "But I can't tell—I don't have any idea how others would view her."

"Well, __I __think she's adorable," Shannon said firmly, rubbing the end of her stethoscope to warm it before placing it against her chest. "And she's got a good, strong, regular heartbeat, and good, clear breathing... She seems to be doing fine! How are __you __feeling, Chise?"

Chise considered for a moment. "Sore," she admitted. "And tired. Hungry."

"When will you cut the cord?" Elias asked, finally looking up.

"Oh, no hurry. We want to wait until there's no pulse left in it if we can—which only really takes a matter of minutes. But it also gives me something to pull on."

"Pull..?"

Shannon picked up the umbilical cord from its unnoticed resting place against Chise's leg. "Yes, to get the placenta out, once it's detached." She gave a slow, steady pull on it, and Chise felt something tug deep within her.

"It's attached!" She blurted. "It's still attached!"

"All right then. I'll try again in a bit."

"Did that hurt?" Elias asked, concern in his voice.

"No, not really. But it felt really weird." Their daughter's little face rooted against her chest, seeking sustenance. Chise grasped her breast and tried to guide it into the tiny mouth. She wasn't sure she would be able to suck without lips; but after several tries, she managed to latch on, her tongue holding the nipple firm against the roof of her mouth, and she began to steadily nurse.

"Whoa, __that's __a weird feeling, too," Chise murmured, mostly to herself. Her breasts both felt almost as though a muscle relaxed within them, and she could feel a draw, a __pulling__, that went straight through to her armpit.

"I'll leave you three alone for a few minutes," Shannon said quietly, turning to go back into the house. Silky, who had been staring at the new baby with a look of wide-eyed delight, spun around and pulled her into a tight embrace. "You're welcome," Shannon whispered to her, returning the hug.

* * *

When she returned a little while later to check on them, it was to find the new parents quietly whispering to each other over their newborn's sleeping head, Elias having finally returned to his more usual form. "How are you all doing?" she whispered.

"We're both fine," Chise smiled, and Elias nodded agreement. "Ruth is sleeping in my shadow still. He's worn out, poor thing."

"It'll hit you too, soon enough. I just want to check your placenta, and then we'll get you both cleaned up and into bed."

"There's, um, not that much cleaning left to do," Chise said, slightly awkwardly, as Elias suddenly became interested in studying the bushes about them.

"There's likely to be a bit of a gush when you stand up," Shannon replied, ignoring her comment, and once again kneeling before Chise. Taking the umbilical cord once again in hand, she gently but firmly drew on it. With a very strange sort of __pulling __sensation deep inside Chise, she drew the placenta out.

Noting that the cord still trailed beneath the baby's blanket, she whispered to Elias, "You can cut it now, if you like. About an inch from her belly, please."

Elias gently drew back the blanket from his sleeping daughter, and carefully, so as to not waken her, leaned over and severed the cord with one quick snap of his jaws.

"Oughtn't we tie it off, first?" Chise asked, looking slightly alarmed; but the severed end only oozed a bit.

"It's not a concern once the pulse is gone," Shannon assured her, as Elias gently tucked the blanket back. "Once the baby starts breathing air, the cord squeezes shut inside them. —Do you want some ice?" At Chise's questioning glance, she clarified, "An ice pack. For your vulva."

"Ah. Yes, __please__."

"Let's go in then. I'll get her measured and weighed while you get cleaned up and into bed. Elias, you can help her with that?"

"Of course," he assured her, as Chise carefully, if a trifle awkwardly, transferred her armful of baby to the elf. With a last smile, and the rocking gait of the professional baby-holder, Shannon left them to the silence of the night.

Chise heaved a heavy sigh, and leaned back into her husband's embrace. "Wow. We're parents."

"Yeah."

"I don't really __feel __like it yet, though."

"Yeah. Me either." Elias looked back down at his wife, stroking her hair and tucking the blanket more firmly about her. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah."

"Are you sure?" He eyed her in concern.

She nodded. "Surprisingly, yes. —I mean, don't get me wrong, that was __really __painful. __Different __from being stabbed; that definitely feels like everything is __very __wrong. But your body kind of goes into shock too, and it doesn't giving birth." She sighed again. "Let's just say that they both hurt a __lot__. But I feel much better now than after getting stabbed! Mostly I'm just hungry." She shifted a bit. "And sore. But not, you know, in __pain__."

"It's probably the endorphins. You should eat."

"Yes. I wonder if Silky can make me a really big, rare steak? I'm kind of craving meat, but I'm not quite sure what kind."

"You should eat __that__." Elias nodded at the placenta, still resting on a nearby towel.

"What?! No! —Um, you can have it if you want, though?"

Elias huffed. "Your body needs the protein and iron, and __that __is what your body is craving. That's why even herbivores will eat the afterbirth. It's why Shannon left it here with us."

"Still..." Chise eyed the bloody lump doubtfully. It looked like nothing so much as a huge red chunk of cow's liver.

"Please. Try. If it doesn't sit right, Silky will bring you something else, I'm sure. But do try."

Her stomach rumbled. She really did crave some kind of rare, even raw meat. "Fine," she sighed in defeat, reaching for it.

* * *

As weird as it had made her feel, and as strange as the texture was, the warm flesh did fill her up and satisfy her craving completely. Elias carried her inside, still wrapped snugly in the blanket, and stood her in a shallow bath to quickly but thoroughly wash her off, towel her dry, and pull a new, soft flannel nightgown over her head, before gently gathering her up into his arms again, and carrying her upstairs into their bedroom.

Silky turned to greet them as they came in, an incandescent smile lighting her face, the baby cradled against her shoulder.

"Is she still asleep?" Chise whispered. Silky nodded slightly. Chise looked relieved. "I can take her if you want... Or do you want to keep her for a bit?"

The brownie stepped back slightly, and settled into the rocking chair.

"Bring her to me when she gets hungry, okay?"

Silky nodded briefly. __Of course.__

Chise climbed into bed, exhaustion finally catching up with her. Elias fussed about her, getting her settled and tucked in before getting into his pyjamas and settling in beside her. Chise fell almost instantly into a deep, dreamless sleep that lasted for what felt like at __least __five whole minutes before she woke to Silky's gentle hand on her shoulder. Their daughter was hungry again.

* * *

_A/N: Elias is reading the opening lines to the Norwegian folk tale "East of the Sun and West of the Moon," by Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Engebretsen Moe._

_Happy Yule, everyone! I know that after today it won't matter; but I'm pleased, considering that they started the whole venture on Beltane, to be able to post the birth chapter on the winter solstice._

_Also, good lord, how did this get so long? It was supposed to be a fairly short piece, ha ha! Chapter 1: They decide to have kids. Chapter 2: They get ready. Chapter 3: Chise gets pregnant; Chapter 4: She gives birth. And here we are on Chapter 10, and it's not done yet! XD Can't believe how long it's taken me to get to this bit. Thanks for sticking with me! :D_

SUMMARY: Chise gives birth. Everything went just fine, aside from the bit where Elias got panicky about his poor waifu, and had to be sent into the garden so he could flail about in his naga form in peace. Chise joins him there for the birth of their baby daughter. She's a tiny, fluffy, white version of Elias's quadruped form, although thankfully with 100% fewer thorny vines, and only nubs (so far) for horns. The new parents try to get some rest while Silky happily rocks the newest member of their family in the corner.


	11. Chapter 11

Silky looked apologetic as the baby wriggled and whimpered in her arms. Tiny leaf-green pupils glowed in the dark.

"Already?" mumbled Chise, and glanced at the clock. It had been about half an hour; but it certainly didn't __feel __like it.

She struggled into a sitting position, and started to swing her legs over the side of the bed, but Silky gently halted her, one-handed, and restacked the pillows behind her into a back rest. Gratefully, she sank against it, and opened her arms to her whimpering daughter.

Latching her on again was a bit difficult, especially in the dark and with an impatient, hungry baby, but she managed eventually. Silky had disappeared.

The baby's frantic, demanding nursing finally slowed and steadied, her little glowing pupils wandering all over Chise's face before finally meeting her eyes.

"Hi," Chise whispered. She stroked the downy neck with a gentle finger, and a tiny, slightly pointy hand grasped it tightly. Chise smiled, brushing her thumb over the tiny fingers. "I'm your Mum. I'm Chise."

She was so tiny. Elias was so large that Chise had been slightly worried about how big his babies might be; but she was... tiny. Chise couldn't think of any better word. 'Little' and 'small' weren't inaccurate, but applied to all babies. 'Delicate' didn't feel right for someone so fluffy. Tiny. She was fluffy, tiny, and adorable.

Chise pressed a gentle kiss to the end of her snout, and adjusted the blanket around her. In the soft moonlight filtering through the curtain, it was hard to see precisely where the white blanket ended and her daughter began, except for her lovely green eyes. Those were dimming now, as her nursing tapered off, only to start up again fitfully for another few moments. She was falling asleep.

Chise looked up as Silky quietly crept in and placed a tall glass of milk and a plate of cheese and sliced apple on her bedside table. "Thank you, Silky," she whispered.

The brownie held her arms out to take the baby back, but Chise shook her head slightly. "I think I'd like to snuggle her a little while longer." Silky nodded, and settled back into the rocking chair as Chise leaned back into the pillows, closing her eyes to the gentle creak of the chair. She barely even noticed, sometime later, when Silky eased the baby out of her slackening arms and tucked her properly back in. 

* * *

The next few days passed by in a blur. Chise was exhausted from waking up every few hours to nurse; but the household managed to sort out a sort of rhythm soon enough.

"You really don't need to be up with us every time she wakes up," Chise said, rubbing at her eyes one-handed as the baby nuzzled at her chest again. "You should get some sleep."

"I know," Elias murmured, shifting her slightly to rest more comfortably against his side, and resting his jaw on her shoulder to peer down at their daughter. "But I can't feed her, and it doesn't seem fair that you should be the only one who has to keep waking up. So you feed her, and I change her when you're done, and we're both useful."

Chise nuzzled his cheek. "Do you not feel useful? You are, you know."

Elias made a considering noise. "I am glad to hear it; but I am also fully aware that until now, __you __have been the one doing all the work of making her. And even now, anyone else could take my place. I myself am not needed, not the way you are. I can change her and cuddle her; but I can't feed her. My presence is not __required__. So I __choose __to be here with you both."

"You __are __required! You're her __father!"__

"I sired her; but after that…" He sighed. "I appreciate it, but you do not need to console me. I am merely stating a fact. If something had happened to you, she would not exist. If you left now, she would starve. If I had vanished… nothing would have changed."

"__Everything __would change!" Chise cried out, a bit too loudly, and the baby whimpered a protest, wiggling with an angry kick. "Shh, shh, I'm sorry; it's okay, Little Girl, shh, shh…" She rocked the baby for a minute, settling her down again, before continuing, much more softly, "__Everything __would change, Elias. You are not so easily replaced! Don't think that you are. Don't you dare think that for one minute." She paused, looking lovingly down at their daughter. "Without you, neither of us would be here. And I mean that very literally."

Elias huffed, and started to protest, but she cut him off. "Even with this! Even with her. You have been my rock, Elias. You have given me so much love and support throughout it all. You give her so much love. Don't think that it doesn't count just because you weren't physically attached to her." She paused to snuggle back against him, and give him another loving nuzzle. "Do you want to feed her?"

Elias grunted. "I can form breasts; but I doubt very much that I could produce milk."

Chise laughed. "That's not what I meant. We do have a breast pump and bottles, you know."

Elias cocked his head. "But I thought that you weren't supposed to give breastfed babies bottles?"

"No, the book said that you didn't want to do it right away; but it's been a few days, and she's gotten pretty good at nursing. Now that she knows how, giving her a bottle shouldn't be a problem. And of course, it'd be breast milk either way."

"Are… are you sure?"

"I'll double-check the book if you like, but yes, I'm sure."

Elias was silent for a long moment. "Will using the pump hurt?"

"No, I very much doubt it." Chise smiled. "It doesn't even have teeth."

"Then… if she's done, I will change her. And perhaps… perhaps, later, when you're more rested, I could try to give her a bottle?"

"I think she would like that very much."

* * *

"She looks like a dandelion puff," Ruth grinned, as he gently stroked the soft white fluff. She grabbed his hand, guiding it closer for careful investigation and a thorough sniff, before digging in her tiny claws and giving his finger an experimental chew. "Ouch! —More prickly, though," he added, wincing, as he tried to extricate his hand without hurting her.

"Well, she __is __the Thorn Mage's daughter," Chise said apologetically, stepping back a bit, to keep him out of her reach.

"Well, to be fair, she's less thorny, more just prickly. A prickly dandelion."

"A downy thistle, perhaps," Elias interjected, settling into his chair and patting his lap for his wife.

_"___Azami,"__ Chise smiled, as Elias lifted her, and the baby in her arms, into his lap. Elias cocked his head in inquiry.

"Azami," she repeated. "It's a very pretty Japanese flower name. Very feminine. It means 'thistle,' or the flower of a thistle."

"Azami..." Elias turned the word over in his mouth. "Thistle. The prickly, lovely little thistle-flower."

"The pouffy little thistle-down," added Ruth.

"What do you think?" Chise asked, looking up at Elias. "Is it a good name?"

Elias gently stroked the white down of his daughter's head, his pupils curving into his smile. "It is." He leaned over Chise's shoulder to give her a small lick. "It is a very good name.

"Welcome home, Thistle."

* * *

_A/N: To those of you who celebrate it, Merry Christmas!_

_And to those of you who don't, Happy Hump-day! :D_

_And now you know why this fic is called "Thistle"! :D It's been killing me to not give it away in a chat or a post somewhere. XD_

_Still not the end! Look for another chapter in the next little while. Sorry this one is a bit shorter again, but I wanted to get it out for you guys today. Happy Holidays! :)_


	12. Chapter 12

_A/N: My apologies (once again!) that this chapter has taken so long! I finally just cut it short at a half-decent place for it, rather than keep you waiting while I figure out how to finish what will now be the end of the next chapter!_

_The fic still has at least two, maybe three more chapters after this one, and one of these days when I say that it won't then be followed by four or five more, ha ha!_

_And as we said in the old days, "Please read & review!" Let me know what you think of it; I've just realized that I've never actually inserted an OC into a relationship before. The realization is slightly alarming, ha ha._

_Enjoy! ~Kryss_

* * *

"Watch out," Chise cautioned, settling into the sofa and reaching for her teacup; "She's a bit bitey."

"Ow! Yes. Thanks for the warning." Angelica said dryly as she adjusted her hold to be a bit less hazardous. "All babies do tend to be a bit chewy, but most of them wait until they're teething to do any real damage. But I suppose there's no need for her to teethe, is there?" she added, tilting Thistle slightly to examine her jaws. Thistle gurgled happily, and playfully snapped at her fingers again. "Ooh, you naughty girl!" Angelica laughed, yanking her hand back out of reach. "You have to be nice, now. Nice!" She raised a cautioning finger, and Thistle opened her mouth, her eyes curving into her father's smile. "Nicely..." Angelica warned, before curling her finger about a canine. Thistle closed her mouth about it, reasonably gently, and Angelica tugged, laughing. "Oh no! Oh _no_, she's _got_ me!"

"Don't encourage her!" Chise pleaded. "She thinks it's funny enough as it is!"

"Well, it's how you teach puppies to not bite too hard, isn't it?" the older mage returned, booping the bony snout with the thumb of her imprisoned hand. "If they bite too hard, you stop playing, and they don't want _that_, do we? Boop!"

"I suppose..." Chise sighed. "Honestly, I don't know if I should treat her as a puppy or a baby!"

"Not much difference at this age," Angelica pointed out. "Go with whatever works. —Aha! Now _I've_ got _you_!" She grabbed the end of Thistle's nose under her thumb. "_Now_ what're you going to do, eh?" She tugged at the tiny head as Thistle giggled and kicked and finally spat her finger out. "Ew, now I'm all spitty. You made me all _spitty_!" she laughed, tickling the fluffy belly. "_Now_ what am I going to do with all this _spit_? Maybe I'll have to _wipe it off here!_"

Thistle was absolutely beside herself at the belly tickles. "Oh dear," murmured Chise, "We're never going to get her to sleep now..."

* * *

"There's my big girl," Elias said, taking his dripping daughter from Chise and wrapping a thick towel around her. "Time for bed! —I've got her bottle all ready," he added to Chise as he dried Thistle off. "Why don't you have a bit of a soak before you come up?"

"That would be lovely, thank you," Chise sighed, sinking back into the tub.

"Just come out before the water cools off," he continued, wrapping Thistle up in a fresh, dry towel as she sleepily rubbed at her eyes and protested the jostling. "And stay under the water up to your shoulders—"

"I know, I know," Chise murmured, closing her eyes. "I won't let myself catch a chill, I promise."

"Come up soon, then," Elias said softly, bending over to give her a fond nuzzle, one hand cradling his daughter's head against his shoulder, and gently closed the door behind him.

Silky had already thoughtfully turned back the blankets, knowing he'd be bringing her up, and had left Thistle's towels laid out neatly in her crib, and set out his pillows, propped up and ready for him, against the headboard. Kicking off his shoes, he settled against them, cradling his daughter in one arm as he reached for the bottle waiting on the bedside table with the other. She was already falling asleep, but he had quickly learned that if she didn't have a last feeding before bed, she'd wake up too soon, hungry and cranky.

He rubbed the bottle's nipple against her front teeth a bit, and allowed a few drops to trickle through the gaps. Sure enough, once she tasted the warm milk, she willingly opened up and latched on, one hand grasping his finger.

Elias loved these quiet moments with her at the end of the day. He had quickly come to enjoy caring for Chise, but caring for his tiny helpless daughter was so entirely different. He cradled her to his chest, treasuring the warmth of her soft little body, the way she so trustingly and quietly snuggled into him, her other hand tucked around his side under his arm, gently petting him as she drank.

He had always rather assumed that babies were more or less indistinguishable featureless blobs, even after he had finally, thanks to Chise, realized that adults were individuals, separate people, and not simply 'humanity'. But having his own, he could see that, even as young as she was, she really was a person herself, too. She had a personality, and thoughts he could see flitting about behind her eyes as she looked up at him. He couldn't wait for her to be able to express them, to find out what they were.

The glow of her eyes, nearly the same shade as her mother's, finally dimmed as she drifted off to sleep. Elias looked to the waiting crib, but decided to cuddle her a little while longer. Just until Chise came up. He was comfortable, and her hand was still loosely wrapped around his finger as she gently snored against him. How could he possibly put her down just yet?

His own pupils were dim when Chise came in to see them dozing together. Smiling, she softly kissed his cheek. "I'm here," she whispered as he stirred. "Why don't you give her to me while you get into your pyjamas?"

He nodded briefly, and carefully handed her over before getting up. Chise gave Thistle a gentle kiss goodnight as well, before settling her onto the towels in her crib, and tucking her in. Her fat little tail rather blocked any attempts at diapering her; but thankfully, simply laying her on a pad of towels was working well enough.

She gave her cheek a last, lingering caress, before turning and joining her husband in their bed.

* * *

It was perhaps a month after that, a night Thistle woke up and would _not _go back to sleep.

She was growing fast, faster, Chise thought, than a strictly-human baby would, and she was already beginning to not need fresh towels in her crib after her two am feeding. She usually just wanted her milk, and then bed again.

But not tonight.

Chise walked her up and down the bedroom, patting her back and trying to soothe the complaining little whines, for several minutes before she realized that there was a pattern to them. She'd start walking one way, and she'd settle, a bit, but still be alert. Then she'd run out of space and turn around, and Thistle would get distressed again, and start whining and wiggling.

She tested it. One way; she'd settle, a bit. Turn; distress. Continue to the wardrobe; wiggles and whines. About face; still upset. A few steps forward, and Thistle stopped wiggling so much, but gave a slight bounce.

What?

She continued, stopped again when she ran out of room again. Didn't turn around again.

She was facing the closed bedroom door.

She frowned at it for a moment, sleepily trying to put two and two together, and looked down at her daughter. Thistle met her gaze imploringly, and gave a single, slight whine.

"Out? You want to go out?"

Chise eased the door open, as quietly as she could, and slipped out into the hallway. Moonlight flooded in from the window at the end, thankfully, and she could see well enough, even if everything was pale and washed out.

"What now?"

Thistle wiggled and twisted, almost out of her arms before Chise managed to manoeuvre her into a more-or-less sitting position, upright in her arms. She stopped wiggling; but whined again, looking around.

Ruth nosed through the door of the bedroom after her and softly asked, "What's up?"

"I don't know," Chise whispered back. "She wants something."

Thistle was looking around the hall and complaining. Uncertain as to where she was meant to go next, Chise took a few steps down the hallway, and was rewarded with directions when Thistle looked towards the stairs and gave a slight bounce. _Come on, Mummy; let's go!_

"All right." Chise carefully made her way down the stairs, the bottom darker in the night, and followed her daughter's directions to the door. "What? Out? You want to go _outside_?" Chise asked in disbelief. "Azami, it's the middle of the night!"

_Out!_

"Ruth?" Chise asked helplessly. The Grim's glowing eyes met hers.

"If she wants out then let's take her out and see what she's after. We won't take her far, and we'll both be right here."

"All right…" Chise still felt uncertain, but she couldn't feel any threat, or coercion. Just Thistle, and her insistence that they go outside. In the middle of the night. Sighing, she unbolted the door and went out.

The moonlight was brighter here, filling the garden with light. She took a few steps forward, the dewy grass cold and wet beneath her bare feet, and shivered in the slight breeze. "All right, then; what now?"

Thistle gave a small huff, endearingly like her father's, and her _put me down!_ wriggle. Chise complied, settling her onto her outstretched feet, and waited, curious to see what she'd do next.

Thistle wobbled for a moment, still new to standing, even on all fours, before taking a careful, but deliberate step forwards, and another.

"Ruth! She's walking!"

"She is. Sort of." The Grim nosed at her slightly, eliciting a small growl, but she otherwise ignored him, making her way to the nearest bush. She paused in its shadow, wobbled, and crouched.

And peed.

Chise's eyes widened in astonishment. "Azami! Good girl!" she said, with a disbelieving grin. Thistle finished up, gave herself a shake—nearly falling over in the process—and proudly turned back towards her mother. A few wobbly steps back and she sat down with a huff, and lifted her arms to be picked up.

Chise scooped her up into her arms, happily bouncing her. "You are such a clever little girl!" she said, exchanging proud nuzzles with her. "Did you figure that out all by yourself? I'm so proud of you!"

Thistle patted her face, eyes smiling, as they headed back into the house.

"She must be tired of waking up on wet towels," said Ruth, shaking off his wet paws as Chise closed and barred the door again.

"Such a clever girl! Wait until your Daddy hears about this!"

"Hears about what?" asked Elias, and Chise looked up to see him peering down the stairs at them. "What's happening? Is everything okay?"

"Everything's fine," Ruth reassured him, as Chise burst out, "Our daughter is the cleverest little girl in the world!"

Thistle proudly showed off her new skill again the next morning, her Uncle Ruth giving her a lick afterwards that nearly knocked her off her feet.

"Isn't she clever?" Chise said again to Elias, pride bursting from every pore. "She figured it out all by herself, and figured out how to tell me about it! I'm just not quite sure," she added, deflating slightly, "how to give her any pointers on it."

"I think that might be something that Ruth and I are better equipped to show her," said Elias, shifting into his quadruped form, and stepping forward to give Thistle a proud nuzzle himself.

* * *

"She does what?!" Angelica burst out, while Alice nearly choked on her tea. "Do you mean she just— no way!"

Chise nodded proudly as she gently bounced Thistle on her knee. It had almost killed her to wait until they came for their weekly visit to tell them, but she had somehow managed. "Do you want to see? Azami, do you want to show Auntie Angie and Auntie Alice what you can do?"

Thistle looked slightly doubtful, but obediently slid from her knee to all fours, and headed out of the sitting room.

"Good lord, she's mobile already?! Althea couldn't even sit on her own at this age!"

"Well, she _is _pretty unique. Even if her gestation period was pretty typical for a human, there's no reason to think that the rest of her development would be. She seems to understand language better than I'd have expected—but having said that, I don't really know what would be expected that way in the first place." She sighed.

"Look at the bright side," Alice said, getting up from the sofa and stretching. "It's probably better than her staying a baby in diapers _longer _than she should."

Thistle led them out the front door, once Alice opened it for her, but stopped halfway to her favourite shrub, turning and looking up at them. The three adults trailed to a halt.

"So? What now?" Alice asked out of the side of her mouth.

"I—I'm not sure; this is new…" Chise took a step towards Thistle, but she lowered her head and hunched her shoulders defiantly, giving a slight growl when Chise took another step. "What, Thistle? What is it?"

"Maybe she doesn't want an audience?" Angelica drawled. "I know I wouldn't."

"Is that it?" Chise asked her daughter uncertainly, as Alice followed Angelica's lead, turning her back.

"Hey, give a girl her privacy, yeah?"

Chise joined them, staring back at the house as Thistle rustled away behind them.

"So, how long has she been doing this?" Angelica asked.

"Oh, about three days now."

"And she just lets you know she wants out, and that's that?"

"Well, I do come out with her. And of course she can't wipe herself yet. But pretty much, yes."

"Aren't you going to potty-train her?" Alice sounded faintly shocked.

"Why? She's pretty much the perfect baby right now," Angelica chuckled.

"Well, that, and she can't really balance on the loo yet," Chise said defensively. "Her tail gets in the way."

"Doesn't it get in the way like this, too?"

"Not really, no; and Ruth and Elias are showing her how to manage it."

Alice's face took on a pained look. "Eugh, now you're making me wonder how Ainsworth does it." She grimaced. "Oh _god_ don't tell me he lifts his leg. I _really_ didn't need that image in my head." She shuddered. "That's gonna keep me awake for _years _now, isn't it? _Dammit_."

* * *

_A/N: You can see some art of Thistle and the rest of the family on my fic Tumblr, at _**tumblr**_ (dot _**com/**_) _**blog/krysslabryn-fanfic**_! Come say hi! :D_


	13. Chapter 13

_A/N: Hello! And once again I must apologize for the ridiculous amount of time it took for me to get another chapter out! Everything's fine; life was just stupid busy and complicated for a while, and I had less time to write than I had hoped. And when I had the time, I didn't have the energy. And also, I couldn't figure quite out how I wanted to tie the end of this chapter into what I have planned for the next one. :/ Ah, well._

_In any case, have another chapter, albeit kind of a short one, and I SWEAR I haven't abandoned this fic, and won't._

_No warnings; just a nice little slice of life. :) Enjoy! ~Kryss_

* * *

Chise held Thistle upright, little pinkish hands gripped tight about her mother's forefingers as Chise gently held her wrists, helping her to stand. Thistle seemed unconvinced about the whole thing.

"Come on," urged Ruth, crouched on the far side of the hearth, tail wagging furiously, "You can do it!"

Thistle leaned forward a bit against Chise's hands and lifted one foot; but put it back down again.

"Come on, Thistle! Ganbatta!" Chise pulled her a little further forward; Thistle, off-balance, was forced to take a step. "That's right! Good girl!"

Thistle allowed herself to be dragged forward another few steps, before clearly deciding she'd had enough. "Na!" She tried to let go of Chise's hands, and sit down; Chise started to automatically lower her before she paused, her grip tightening again.

"What was that, Thistle?"

"Na! __Na!"__ Thistle pulled harder and began to kick.

"Ruth! Did you hear that? —All right, Azami, don't fuss." She set her down, finally letting go.

Thistle slapped the floor with both hands and glared up at her Mum. "Na!" she shouted one last time, in a piping voice, before giving a huff and stalking off on all fours, feathers bristling, doing her best to stamp.

As she reached the hall, the front door opened, and Elias stepped inside, flipping back his veil as he did so. "Mrs Whitby will require a slightly larger dose next time, Chise," he said by way of greeting. "Hello, Thistle!"

He swept her up for a hug, but she, legs stiff and furious, yelled, "__Na!___" _ in his face. He almost dropped her in surprise, and she wasted no time in wriggling out of his grasp.

"Thistle—Thi—stop—hold still! Azami! Stop it!" He managed to juggle her safely to the floor again and turned a baffled face to Chise as Thistle hurried into the kitchen. "Chise, what…?"

"Congratulations, Elias," Ruth said dryly, joining them as they heard a distant __Na! __"You were just in time to hear her first word."

"Her first word? Really?"

Chise looked pained. "I… think she means 'no'."

* * *

Elias looked thoughtful as Chise released an irritated Thistle again, and patted his lap for his daughter. She huffed, but climbed up. "I don't think it's a question of her overall balance," he mused. "Or her strength."

"Yes, she's sitting on your lap just fine, isn't she?" Chise sighed, taking her usual seat on the sofa beside them. Thistle, hands tucked neatly between her knees, looked from Chise to her father.

"I suspect it's more that her paws aren't really enough to keep her properly upright."

Thistle stuck a foot out, wiggling her toes.

"That's right, Thistle. Your feet aren't big enough for you to balance upright on, are they?"

Chise looked confused. "But you can balance just fine on yours."

"Mm, yes, in some forms. But not when I'm shaped like her. My legs…" He paused, lifting his head and dropping his jaw slightly in thought. "They don't sit at the right angle to my torso, and the tail is in the way. It's too long and thick," he added at Chise's frown. "See, she can sit upright on my lap now because it's folded under her; but that can't happen when she's trying to stand."

"But how can she learn to walk, then?"

"She's walking fine now," Ruth pointed out.

"I mean upright!"

"Don't worry, love," Elias said, reaching over to rest a reassuring hand on her head. "I think the odds are good that this will not be her only form."

"Na," agreed Thistle, wiggling down from his lap. She trotted to the sofa, and hauled herself up.

"I wish you wouldn't do that," Chise sighed, lifting her onto her lap. "I'm always afraid you're going to rip it one of these days. And then what would Silky say?"

"Na!"

"Yes, probably."

Thistle leaned in for a nuzzle, her eyes curving. "Na," she said softly, and patted Chise's cheeks. "Na-na."

Chise nuzzled her back. "Na-na," she agreed.

"Na-na?" Elias echoed. "Do you mean 'Mama'?"

"Na-na!" Thistle said happily.

"Mama!" Chise said, smiling from ear to ear in delight. "I'm her second word!"

* * *

Elias adjusted her on his lap so she was facing him a bit more directly. "Now, Azami," he started, and she looked up at him with interest. "Your body is a mix of Mama and me. So you have __her __green eyes, and __her __hands, but __my __face and legs and tail, right now."

Thistle poked at her hands for a minute, looking thoughtful, then patted her nose, squinting cross-eyed, before reaching up to pat Elias's. "Na," she said, doubtfully.

"I know, but it's true. So. This is the shape you were born in, and have been using, so it will likely feel the most comfortable to you."

Thistle was poking her fingers again, apparently losing interest.

"And it is a very good body! It's very capable. But it isn't very good at balancing on two legs, is it? —Pay attention, Azami!"

She looked up, tilting her head at him.

"I'm going to show you how to change your body when you want to, so you can stand like Mama and I usually do. This sort of shape is easier to balance in." He wiggled her toes, making her giggle. "These are very cute, but you need longer feet, and less tail. So. I want you to reach inside yourself with your mind, and feel the shape of your foot. Feel the pads, and your claws…" He gently stroked each bit he named, drawing her attention to it. "Feel the fur over your skin… Can you feel the shape of it?"

Thistle sat fairly still, her distant gaze dimming.

"Can you feel how your foot might be a different way, too? To look more like Mummy's? Just fine little hairs instead of fur, and toenails instead of claws, no pads, your foot long and flat…" His voice was low and droning, as if he were trying to lull her to sleep. "That foot might feel like Mummy to you, too. Can you feel it? Can you push at your foot with your mind so it's shaped like __that __foot instead of __this __one..?"

* * *

"Do you have any idea why she can't shift yet?" Chise kept her voice low, not wanting to disturb Thistle, snoring softly in her crib. "Do you remember how old you were when __you __first changed your shape?"

Elias sighed, his hands tightening briefly on his pillow as his eyes grew distant. "I'm not even sure if the first time I remember changing my form was the first time I did it. Certainly I don't remember __learning __how to change." His eye drifted to meet hers as she gave his hand a commiserating squeeze. "Do you remember learning how to walk?"

"Not really," she admitted. "More just snippets of being carried when I was too little to walk very far." Mentally prodding Ruth to see if he, too, was still awake, she asked the same of him.

__Shifting? Walking? Neither, __he sleepily replied. __How do you teach someone to blink? You just do it. Or you don't.__

"No ideas from Ruth, either, I take it?" Elias wryly confirmed, recognizing her expression.

"No." Chise paused, then asked, a hair too diffidently, "Do you think it would help to take her into the woods? Out to the pond, perhaps? Or the stump? Perhaps being in more natural surroundings..?"

Elias looked aside, his shoulders stiffening slightly. "I still don't think it's a good idea to bring her out past the wards, yet. You're both such tempting targets…"

"We don't have to do this alone, you know." Chise gently stroked his back, feeling him relax slightly under her touch. "There's likely to be help, if we ask for it."

"You know you can't trust them, nor their help. Their so-called 'kindnesses'."

"Shannon did do a lot to help—"

"Shannon was raised as a human. The others weren't."

"Still, if we were careful, and stayed on this side…"

"Asking for help from the fae, though; there's no way to do that safely."

"What if they were to __offer __help?"

Elias snorted, then froze as Thistle's snoring stopped. Their eyes met in the wide-eyed fear shared by parents of young sleeping children the world over.

After what seemed like an eternity, and the soft sounds of a slight shuffle, her slow breathing swept through the darkness once more. The parents relaxed.

"Sorry," Elias whispered. "But as I was about to say, accepting unasked-for proffered help might be even more dangerous than asking for it in the first place."

"__Potentially,"__ Chise allowed. "But Titania does like you, you know."

"She likes __you__. She __tolerates __me. Which is more than any of the rest of them have ever done."

"Still, if she agreed, she'd be a powerful protector. And none of the rest would go against her."

"I suppose."

"And you know," Chise murmured, nuzzling his cheek with a smile, "Oberon is fond of you as well."

Elias huffed, careful, this time, to do so quietly. "Oberon just enjoys pestering me."

"He does. That's how he shows it."

"Well. We'll see."

* * *

_A/N: Hey, did a little comic of Thistle a bit ago. You can see it on my fanfic writing Tumblr:_

_krysslabryn-fanfic. Tumblr (dot com) post/190295910800/thistle-comic_

_~Kryss_


	14. Chapter 14

As they were finishing breakfast the next morning, Silver Lady handed Chise a small folded paper with a slight smile.

"What's this?" she asked, looking it over. There were no names, addresses, or seal upon it; only the faint hue and pollen of a flower pressed firmly against it adorned the outside of the pristine white paper.

Chise unfolded the stiff sheet and quickly scanned the short missive, then reread it again, more slowly. "Well?" asked Elias, a touch impatiently.

"It's from Titania—she says she would like, at our earliest opportunity now that we've settled in a bit, to meet our sweet babe."

Elias stiffened. "I don't like this, Chise."

"I know."

"Even if she likes you, this is likely to be dangerous. And we have no idea how they will react to Thistle."

At the sound of her name, Thistle looked up from her perch upon his lap, where she had been determinedly exploring his last sausage. "Na?"

"Na," Elias replied firmly, jiggling her upon his knee for a moment. She giggled, clutching his securing hand, and bounced a few more times after he stopped in a vain attempt to start him up again.

"Na!" she insisted, bouncing harder; "Na, na, na, na na na! _Na!"_

"Na," he finally sighed in resignation, as Chise giggled, and gave her a few good hard bounces, much to Thistle's delight, before continuing an absent-minded jiggle.

"—Where was I?" he asked, somewhat plaintively.

"Danger," Ruth helpfully supplied, as Chise glared at him.

"Yes. Danger."

"Fine," Chise sighed, "_Danger_; but is it really likely to be more dangerous than ignoring her summons?"

"Mm. _More _dangerous? Less?" His shoulders slumped slightly. "I suppose complying with her summons will be less _certainly _dangerous than not. But I still don't like it. We don't know what she wants."

"Well," said Chise, reading over the note again, "Apparently to meet our sweet babe."

* * *

"And she'll definitely be there?— No, I suppose she'll have heard the moment we left the garden."

"Mm." Elias was even more reticent than usual as he strode along, Thistle wrapped protectively in a warm blanket as well as his arms.

"Elias, can—can you slow down a bit?" Chise panted. Even Ruth was having to trot to keep up with the mage's brisk strides. "You're going too—_whup!_"

Without breaking stride or uttering a word, he scooped her into the crook of his arm, transferring Thistle to his other as he continued through the woods.

* * *

The indirect sunlight filtering through the high, leafy canopy filled the clearing with a soft, green light. Butterflies danced about the ancient wreckage of an oak that must have heard the language of the Pax Romana in its prime, as Titania gracefully stood and stepped down from its mossy embrace, reaching out welcoming arms as she drew near. Elias set Chise down, but kept a possessive hand about her shoulders, drawing her close.

"Ah, at last! And here is our dear hatchling, my sweet darling babe! Dear Thorn, beloved Robin, how wonderful for you!" She drew a loving hand down Elias's clenched jaw as she spoke, and pressed a gentle, chaste kiss to Chise's forehead, before stepping back to regard Thistle softly. Thistle looked back uncertainly, and snuggled a little deeper into her father's arms.

"And greetings to you, little one! Child of Robin and Thorn, how are you called?"

"You may call her Thistle," said Elias stiffly. Thistle gave her thumb a few steadying sucks.

"Thistle," murmured Titania. "Welcome to my lands, Thistle. You may call me 'Grandmother,' if you so desire." She held out a hand, and after a moment's hesitation, Thistle reached for it, her own slightly slobbery. Titania took it solemnly, giving it a reassuring squeeze, before leaning in to plant a gentle kiss to her forehead. "Granddaughter," she said softly, smiling.

She then stepped back, still holding her hand, and turned to the clearing, raising her voice in a clear call. "Do you hear me, my children? Fairies of Albion and Tir na nÓg, I claim this one as my granddaughter! Treat her with the respect due to her as such, or you _will _answer to me."

A throng of Ariels arose from the clearing around them, circling at a cautious distance as larger shadows moved in the shade of the encircling trees. Elias released Chise to embrace Thistle more closely, but Chise stepped forward with a smile as one particular Ariel dared closer. "Ariel!" she smiled. "I've missed you!"

The tiny fairy fluttered in to press a kiss to her cheek before perching on her shoulder. "Chise! How ya doing, sweetie? Has the bonehead been behaving himself?"

"He has," Chise laughingly reassured her, as Elias huffed in annoyance and turned aside with Thistle squirming in his arms, trying to reach the darting Ariels over his shoulder. "It's been ages! What have you been up to?"

"Oh, you know, the usual," the fairy waved dismissively, cuddling close to Chise's ear and embracing a strand of her hair. "I'm just so glad we're finally allowed to visit you again!"

"What do you mean, 'allowed'?" Chise tilted her head, trying to understand, unconsciously echoing her husband's gesture.

Ariel drew back and crossed her arms in annoyance, blowing a lock of hair out of her eyes. "That bonehead—"

"Ariel, _please _don't call my husband that."

Ariel _humphed_, but continued, "The _Thorn Mage_ put up wards all around you! None of us could get anywhere _near _you!"

"I know he strengthened the wards around the house, but—" Chise began soothingly. Elias seemed absorbed in adjusting Thistle's blanket.

"Not just the house; around _you!_ And then the Gealach told us to all leave you alone and not even _try _to get around them." She sighed heavily and pouted. "I wanted to _be there!_ I didn't even get to see the birth!"

"Elias?" Chise raised questioning eyes to him, and he sighed in turn.

"You were dreadfully weak, Chise. We were afraid you might even need to relocate to the Anthill again to recover. You couldn't afford to have anything leaching away your magic—"

"And I agreed with his apparent assessment, and enforced his quarantine of you," Titania interjected, raising her chin as she glanced away from Thistle. "You know that there are dangers in the world, and not all of them are readily apparent. There has not been a child born to one of us—"

A deep, if muttered, grumble interrupted her as the Spriggan glared at them from the shadows of the stump, his hounds trailing out from behind it. Ruth stepped forward to stand guard beside Chise, keeping a cautious eye on them.

"There has not been a child born to _one of us_," Titania continued firmly, "in an age. I wanted you to be neither endangered nor harassed. _Which you will not be_," she added loudly, causing the other Ariels to flit skyward in alarm.

Ariel took the opportunity to flutter cautiously closer to Thistle, ignoring Elias's glower. "Hiya, sweetie!" she said softly, careful to stay just out of reach of the grabby little fingers. "I'm your neighbour, Ariel! Pleased to finally meetcha!"

"Titania," Elias growled, "_I_ did not drop their wards."

"They are no longer necessary," she waved dismissively. "All have seen me accept her as my own bonny kin, and none will dare approach her with ill intent."

"You know perfectly well that ill intent and ill results can be two very different things," he snarled. Chise stepped to his side, laying a calming hand upon his arm. It was as hard as a rock beneath her touch. " I will not have you undoing the protections I lay in place upon my wife and my—"

"'_You_ _will not_'?" Titania echoed, her eyes flashing up at him. "Do not mistake my kindness for weakness, Thorn. I am queen of all the fae in these lands; _all _the fae. I command rarely; but my commands _will _be obeyed. If I deem them unnecessary, _none _will gainsay me. Not even you."

Chise swallowed heavily, before forcing herself to take a small step forward, capturing their attention, and giving a respectful bow to the faerie queen. "Please, accept our apologies, and forgive him," she said softly, hands politely on her thighs. "We do not mean to imply any weakness on your part, or any reluctance of _any _of your subjects to obey you."

Elias huffed; she gave his ankle a slight nudge. He subsided.

"Please understand that we have borne the brunt of many attacks over the years, many of them unexpected. It is difficult to accept so suddenly that we are now safe."

She dared to peek up through her hair to Titania; she was watching her with arms crossed, but the hint of a fond smile played about her lips.

"You _have _been kind to us," she continued, returning her glance to the grass at her feet. "And we are much obliged. Perhaps you will do us the additional small kindness, unnecessary though it is, of permitting my husband's wards to remain in place about us, so that he may more easily be assured of our safety?"

Chise fell silent, waiting. After a moment she heard Titania's low, musical laugh, and her fingers gently raised her chin to meet her dancing eyes. "Sweetly spoken, dear Robin! Thorn, you should follow your wife's lead more often; she is wiser than thou. Very well." Titania gently stroked her cheek before dropping her hand and looking up at Elias. "If you acknowledge that they are pointless with my protection, I will permit you to place whatever wards will make your own guardianship of your wife and child feel more secure, unnecessary though they may be."

Chise turned to Elias as well as he took her hand, a glitter of love and pride in his eyes. Giving it a gentle squeeze, he gave a sweeping bow that was hardly sarcastic at all, saying, "Well aware am I of my wife's good sense. I will allow her wisdom to guide me in this, and agree that your protection is far abler to keep her and our daughter safe from the fae of Albion, and—" he gritted his teeth slightly— "And thank you for permitting my _unnecessary _wards to remain in place about them for my own peace of mind."

"Then it is done," smiled Titania, turning from them in a regal sweep. Ariel gave a startled squawk as she was unceremoniously forced well back from the trio by the return of the invisible shields. "Oh, and Thistle, my darling granddaughter." Titania stepped close again, taking her tiny hand in hers once more, and pressing a gentle kiss to her forehead. "Fare thee well for the nonce; I shall see you anon. Meantimes, go with my blessing upon you."

Stepping back again, she gathered them with her eyes, adding, "I shall see you all soon, my dear, sweet children. Until then!"

Stepping lightly across the grass, and followed by the remains of her dispersing entourage, she mounted the white donkey that Spriggan led from a sheltering tree, and gaily rode into the eternal twilight lingering beneath the overlacing boughs.

"I don't think your wards slowed her down at all, Elias," Ruth commented, still looking after her.

Elias huffed. "No, she was very careful to make that clear." He scowled after her before once more gathering Chise up to sit in the crook of his other arm. "Chise, do not trust her," he warned uneasily. "She is not as human as she appears, and the 'kindness' of the fae is not always a kindness to humans. Do not forget that, _please_."

"I won't," Chise reassured him, snuggling against his shoulder. Thistle reached for her; Elias carefully juggled her into her mother's waiting arms before shifting his hold to embrace Chise more securely against him.

"You _say _that," Elias said glumly. "Yet you often seem to take her at face value. _Do _please be careful."

"I will," Chise said softly. "Thank you for the reminder. It is not… out of place."

"Ah. Well, then. Good."

"I am glad that she seems to be so accepting of Thistle, though."

"Mm. Well, she is correct; to the best of my own knowledge, no fae, nor, I suspect, even some part-fae thing such as myself, has had offspring in Albion in centuries. She will be _most _interested in her."

The mage's long strides carried them swiftly back through the forest as Chise mulled that over.

* * *

_A/N: *Sigh*_

_I really am sorry about how long it's taken me to get these chapters out. All I can say is that there's been some weirdness in my life over the past few months (no, really? *eyeroll* I mean beyond the Great Global Quarantine) that has left me kind of uninspired and having a difficult time doing much beyond napping and browsing Tumblr. And I can't say the quarantine is helping with that; I've always had a hard time writing with others in the house. My prime writing time seems to be the couple hours before lunch. Hubs heads out to work, I get the kids off to school, finish my second coffee, and get some writing in before he comes home for lunch. However, we're all now in quarantine together (we started self-isolating at the beginning of March when Canada began to see its first Covid-19 cases)— which doesn't leave me a lot of privacy in which to write. My desk is set up in a corner of the dining room right next to the living room, where hubs hangs out. And of course the kids are at home full-time now, too. Thank the gods I haven't yet had to try and write any smut with them all at home! Aargh. Also, hubs is slowly going stir-crazy and is coping by roping us all into helping with all the reorganizing and spring cleaning he's been wanting to do forever but never has time for. Last week we pulled everything out of the garage, assembled a huge new shelf in there, and loaded it all back in again. I mean, it's MUCH better in there (you could barely get a foot inside the door anymore beforehand); but all that doesn't leave me much writing time either. Also it explains all the extra naps._

_So I'm not going to promise that the next one is going to be out "so much quicker," because I'm pretty sure I've been saying that pretty much right from the beginning with this one, and keep failing to deliver. Pretty sure by the end of it (which, yes, is STILL around three chapters away, lol) this fic and Thistle herself will be the same age._

_What I CAN do is assure you that, in I guess about the quarter century since the very first time I wrote and posted a fanfic online in the mid-Nineties (on a little Hellboy fansite that almost certainly doesn't exist anymore, although the fic itself is still online here), I have never ever once in all that time abandoned a fic, and I certainly don't intend to do so now! :)_

_I do also deeply appreciate each and every review; they really do help to encourage and inspire me. So, uh... subtle hint? ;) But I'll keep plugging away at it and trying to write as much as I can. But I can barely keep track of what day of the week it is; I certainly don't want to make any assumptions of when the next one will be up. I do know basically what's going on, though; it's the bit I was going to have in this chapter but then Titania Got Ideas and went and did her own thing instead. So now I've got to put that bit into the next chapter instead, which is why we're STILL at least three chapters away from the end, ha ha. Blame her. But at least I don't have to figure out what happens next!_

_Anyways, if you have an account here, hit the Follow button down below to be notified when "Thistle" updates; alternatively you can follow my fanfic account over on Tumblr, at krysslabryn-fanfic. (dot Tumblr, dot com), which exists solely for fic update notifications (and very very occasionally something related; it's got a couple of pics of Thistle up there as well, for example). And stay safe! We'll be okay._

_See you again in a little while. ~K_


	15. Chapter 15

Indeed, while Chise still did not see any neighbours on their actual property, she was, now, all too aware of flitting shadows and watching eyes upon the borders of their little world. She didn't feel outright threatened, and Silky seemed unconcerned; but the __intensity __of the now-constant regard left her a bit uneasy.

"I just feel __watched __all the time," she said, lowering the bedroom's curtain again as Elias gave Thistle her evening bottle. "I—I feel like I'm on display. I keep wanting to put up heavier curtains."

"I doubt it would make much of a difference," Ruth commented sleepily from the foot of the bed.

"That isn't much consolation."

"I can strengthen the wards further, if that would help," Elias murmured, keeping his voice low. Azami's eyes were dimming as he gently rocked her.

"Thank you, but that wouldn't stop it, would it? I mean, they'd still be watching, just from further away." She paused, then asked, a bit plaintively, "Do you think they'll eventually get bored?"

"It may happen. Thistle is a new thing to them, a wonder; but faeries are famous for having short attention spans. When she hasn't done anything new or interesting for a while, some of them at least may lose interest and drift away."

Chise sighed. "They don't seem to have ever lost interest in __me__."

"Mm, well, no; but you are a sleigh beggy. You are __fascinating__."

"But Thistle is, too, isn't she? I mean, she's my daughter, and I'm pretty sure __my __Mum was a sleigh beggy… She'd have to be, right? Isn't she?"

Elias looked upward, seeming to search for the right words. "It's easier for the fully-fae to tell, I think," he finally confessed. "All I can tell easily is that __you __smell __amazing__. You—there's a __pull__, you understand. But until I actually tried to tap into your magical energy, I wasn't able to tell how much or little you had. And while of course they said that you had the Sight, until I saw you use it for myself I couldn't confirm that. Angelica, you remember, couldn't tell whether or not you had any magical potential at all. And I believe alchemists rely upon devices to detect magical ability; they cannot do so innately."

"Which means..?"

Elias shrugged, a bit helplessly. "I can only tell how strongly someone pulls me, and infer from that. And of course with __you __I felt that sleigh beggy pull before I cared anything for you as a person—let alone before I __realized __that I cared anything for you."

Chise smiled. "You've come a long way since then."

"I have, thanks to you." His eyes curved. "I am more aware that people are individuals, as well as being more aware of my own feelings. But so far as Thistle goes…" The thumb of the hand cradling her gently stroked her leg as he looked down at her, his eyes softening. "She's my own daughter," he murmured. "We __wanted __her. She's a part of me as well as you. I'm her __father__.

"How can I possibly separate my love for her from any potential sleigh beggy pull?"

Chise absorbed that in silence, absentmindedly patting Ruth's head as she sat down beside him. His tail gave a brief, sleepy wag.

"I suppose," she finally mulled, "That the simplest way would be to ask Ariel or one of the others if she was."

"Simplest, yes, probably. I'm not entirely sure that would be the __safest __path, though."

"But it's not like they won't already know, is it?" she argued, shifting 'round to face him as he leaned against the headboard. "They've already met her. I mean, the only other alternative I can think of is to ask the College if they can measure her magical potential—"

"Absolutely not!" Elias's eyes flashed in alarm.

"No—I agree. But what I mean is, __they'd __have to actively try to measure her, wouldn't they? They wouldn't just __know __the way the neighbours would, like they did with me."

Elias settled a bit, but still looked wary. "I really would prefer that the College not find out that she is anything but a perfectly ordinary human being for as long as possible," he muttered. "We can't trust them to have her best interests at heart. She will have enough of a target on her back just from being our daughter; there's no need to paint it any larger."

Chise looked at Thistle, where she lay in Elias's arms, fluffy little white body blending into his sleeve, thick little opalescent tail trailing down to the bedspread, her face an adorable echo of Elias's own. "I… think they may figure it out."

"I didn't say it would be easy," he grumbled. "But she needn't be able to fully shift as I can. If she can at least walk upright, I can always cast a glamour over her; that will give her a measure of protection against casual observation, at least."

"Can't you do it now?" Chise asked, curious.

"I could; but she moves differently from a crawling baby."

"Creepy," mumbled Ruth.

"Yes, I rather think it would be. The effect would be less noticeable if she were upright, however. Or so I believe."

Chise nodded absently, her brow furrowed in thought. "What about Lindel?" She said at last. "Do you think he would be able to tell? Or the dragons? Nevin knew right away that I was a mage, and he was blind. And I hadn't even learned any spells yet!"

"Oh? He said that right off, did he? Well, he was one of the old, great dragons. I'm not sure if the younger ones would be able to sniff you out as he did. But I can always ask, I suppose."

"Iceland is west of here, isn't it? Why don't you ask him once Thistle's down? Surely he will still be up; it shouldn't be too late there yet."

"Er… It may be better to send a message that he can read at his leisure. Besides, Thistle ought to be a deal older before we take her so far from home, and I don't think he could tell just by looking from there."

"Still, I imagine he will want to hear how she's doing. I'd like to say hello myself; it's been ages since we've seen him!"

"Then… Why don't we, uh… why don't we talk to him in the morning, when she's awake, so he can see her for himself? —Or better yet, I can send a message and ask him to call us whenever is convenient for him. I imagine he'll be busy with hatchings and reindeer calvings and things— You know, it might be best to just leave him to it for another month or two…"

"__Elias__." Chise eyed him sternly. "Why are you being so weird about this?"

"W-weird?"

"Yes, weird! It's like you haven't even… Oh __no __. Elias, you did remember to __tell __Lindel when Thistle was born, didn't you?"

Silky, enjoying a quiet sit and knit in the peace of the sitting room below, almost dropped a stitch at Chise's outraged shout.

_"___What do you ____**mean **____you didn't tell him I was pregnant?!"__

* * *

"I still can't believe you didn't even __mention __it to him," Chise grumbled, sitting back. Elias hung his head, looking properly chastised. Silky and Ruth had discretely left the kitchen as soon as breakfast was done.

"I honestly didn't even think about who should know about it," he admitted. "I was more concerned about who should __not __know. And about you. And her. And the birth. And—"

"All right, but still! I even had a baby shower and everything!"

"Yes?"

"Well, I mean… I mean, that's usually the cue that it's okay to start letting people know about the pregnancy, right?"

"Is it?"

"Isn't it?"

They stared at each other for a moment before Chise shook her head at Elias's blank look. "Well, I suppose it's too late to change any of that now," she sighed. "So. Lindel doesn't know about Thistle's birth __or __that I was pregnant. So we need to tell him." She rubbed her face wearily. "Actually, perhaps __you __should tell him."

"But—!" Elias stopped himself, was silent for a moment, and deflated. "All right."

"I __will __be there to talk to him as well, though," Chise added, smiling fondly at him.

"Thank you."

"Who else didn't you tell?"

Elias thought for a minute. "Out of everyone we know? I'm still not quite sure who I __should __have told," he admitted. "It might be faster to just tell you who I __did __tell."

"All right." Chise picked up a pencil and readied herself to write.

"Silky."

Chise paused, and looked up. "Well, I mean, __of course __you told Silky," she said, giving him a Look. "That doesn't count."

"Why not?" Elias seemed honestly confused.

"Well, because she __lives __here! You didn't need to make any kind of a birth announcement to her; she __knows!__ She was here for it!"

"Ah." Elias paused. "So I don't need to list Ruth or Shannon, then."

"__No__."

"Or Angelica or Alice? I think it was probably you who told them, though…"

"__Elias__. Who, of the people who have __not __been here since Thistle was born, and who might therefore still __not __be aware of her birth, did you tell about her?"

Elias suddenly became deeply preoccupied with picking a piece of lint from his glove. "I mean," he mumbled, "Lindel probably does already know, since the ariels __here __know…"

Chise sighed heavily, dropping her head to her folded arms on the table. "You didn't tell __anyone__, did you?"

"I'm sorry," he confessed. "I didn't know I should have."

"No, I suppose not," Chise sighed. "I don't think you ever even really thought about having kids someday until I mentioned it, did you?"

"No. I had no reason to."

"So you had never had any reason to imagine having a child of your own. All the little things you'd do." Chise pushed back her chair, and came around to her husband, giving him a little push on his shoulder for him to slide his chair out. He obliged, and she settled onto his lap with another sigh, resting her head against his chest as his arms came around her.

"One of the first things you ever actually told me about yourself was that you didn't like children."

"Very true. And I still didn't fully understand the usual concept of a family at that point. Nor what a marriage properly was, or what was expected from it."

"But when… when we first became intimate, and we were trying to figure out what kind of birth control would work the best for us, you didn't—you honestly never thought about the alternative? Even as a 'this must never happen' sort of thing?"

"Alternative? To… birth contro—Oh. __Oh__." Elias dropped his face into his hand. "__Birth __control. Oh my lord."

"Elias, my husband, you __know __I love you. But sometimes, you're kind of an idiot."

"I am, aren't I?"

In the sitting room, Ruth murmured to Silky, bouncing Thistle on her knee beside him, "Well, birds of a feather…"

Silky hummed amused agreement.

* * *

"All right. What about Rahab?"

Elias looked confused again. "Rahab?"

"Your old teacher? Lindel's master?"

"No, I mean, what about Rahab?"

"Should we tell her?"

"I haven't seen nor spoken to her in well over a century. Perhaps two. —Would informing her be socially required?"

"No, I suppose not, then," Chise replied, slightly regretful. "So I suppose it's really just Lindel that we ought to call."

"Yes, I think so." Elias sighed. "When do you want to do that?"

"No time like the present, I suppose."

* * *

"Hello, Chise! Elias. Is anything wrong? You two look anxious."

"Hello, Lindel!" Chise smiled at his reflection in the seeing-stone. "No, everything's fine here. It's good to see you! It's been a long time!"

"Has it? I suppose it has. Well, you know that my granddaughter may call me any time." He returned her smile warmly. "I hope that—"

A dragon hatchling popped into view, bouncing excitedly. "Chise?! Chise! Hi, Chise!"

"Back off, you!" Lindel grumbled, pushing it back; but another head popped in from his other side. "Chise! Hi, Chise! When are you going to come for a visit again?!"

"Settle down! You're in the way. Sit down!"

In the brief lull, Chise cleared her throat. "Um, speaking of granddaughters, there's something we need—we __want __to tell you…"

"This may not be the best time, Chise," Elias murmured. "He seems distracted. We should call back later."

Chise discreetly elbowed him as the dragons popped back into view. "Oh! Is it about the baby?!" the first asked, bouncing excitedly. "You should bring her along! We can all play with her!"

"Is she there now?! Let us see her!"

Lindel dropped his face into his palm amidst a flurry of excited flapping and bouncing, and calls of "Show us the baby!"

Elias perked up. "Actually, this may be the __perfect __time to call."

"You told them too soon," Lindel grumbled. "Now they know we know."

"Ha! You were going to make me __tell __you, weren't you?"

"Of course I was! Where's the fun in just letting you off the hook?! You didn't mention __anything__."

"We're sorry, Lindel," Chise said, echoing the subdued hatchlings' murmurs of, "Sorry, Lindel," and "We didn't mean to give it away."

Elias huffed. "I was distracted. But," he added, at Chise's prompting look, "I should have found the time to let you know she was expecting. And about the birth. I apologize."

"Well, that's okay then. Just make sure to tell me right away the next time. I want to know when you put Chise through these things!"

"I didn't 'put her through' anything, Lindel," Elias grumbled.

"Oh, I'm sorry? She just conceived on her own? I was under the impression you were the father."

Elias huffed as Chise hid a small smile. "See? This is why I never talk to him."

"You never talk to me because you're a brat."

"__Regardless__," Chise interjected, "Would you like to see her?"

Lindel was all but trampled by wildly enthusiastic hatchlings. "Sure," he said, voice muffled. "Let me just stand back a bit."

Silky peeped around the doorway, and brought Thistle in, Ruth following close behind.

Thistle's eyes widened at the sight of the glowing viewing stone, and the jostling babies. She shrank back against Silky, thumb instinctively seeking her mouth.

"Hi, Thistle!" Chise crooned, opening her arms wide as Silky passed her over. "Look! These are our friends. They're baby dragons! And your grandfather Lindel is here, too! Do you want to say hi to them? They very much want to say hi to you."

The hatchlings stilled as Chise cuddled the uncertain Thistle to her, Elias wrapping a comforting arm around his wife as he reassuringly stroked Thistle's back. "You can call them Uil, Beanna, and Gaoth Arach," he said, pointing at each kind in turn. "Lindel, this is Thistle. My daughter," he added, chin lifting with pride.

"Aww, look at her!" the Uil said softly. "She's so tiny! Hiya, Thistle!"

"Hi, Thistle! We know your mum!"

"And your dad!"

"And your granddad!"

"Yeah, he lives with us!"

"He looks after us!"

"You should come for a visit!"

"Yeah! Come play with us!"

"All right, all right, that's enough," said Lindel, pushing his way back to the forefront. "Don't overwhelm her. Calm down. Hello, Thistle," he added, with a gentle smile. "I'm your Grandfather Lindel."

Thistle remained cuddled back into her parents' arms, but popped out her thumb long enough to say, "...Gafalalal? Lalalalalal….."

"Aww! She's so cute!"

Lindel rolled his eyes at his charges, but smiled. "Grandfather Lindel, yes. Perhaps you will come and visit me and the dragons some day, yes?"

"Yeah! Come and play with us!"

"Bring your mum and come play!"

Thistle sat up a bit, looking livelier. "Pwah?" she asked, popping her thumb out.

Chise laughed. "Yes, play with the dragons! Would you like that?"

"Pwah dago! Lalalal!"

"It's settled then. When you are a bit bigger, have your parents bring you for a visit."

"When she's bigger," confirmed Elias.

"Yes. And," added Chise wryly, remembering her own early visits, "Maybe once she's learned to swim."

* * *

_A/N: __I feel that I ought to mention, for posterity's sake, that as I write this chapter we are awaiting the release of Chapter 70, so Elias at this point has indeed not seen Rahab since he left her tutelage, after deciding that Lindel was not the most optimal Teacher of Human Things. However, (minor spoilers for Chapters 51 and 52), Chise, unbeknownst to Elias, has._

_On a more personal note, we're also a few weeks from heading into our fifth month in quarantine. Luckily we're okay financially, but I have to admit, I'm struggling emotionally, and it's slowing me down. So I'd like to particularly ask for reviews/comments if you're up to it; I could really use the boost._

_Thanks, guys. Love you all. Stay safe out there._


	16. Chapter 16

Chise couldn't have pinpointed the moment she became aware of the faery Queen's presence; it began, as it always did, with the subtle sense of Spring in the air. Her subconsciousness registered it before her waking mind did; when she looked down the path to see her waiting in the leaf-dimmed light, she was not surprised.

"Good afternoon, your Majesty," she said, with a polite bow, and Thistle, beside her, did her best to follow suit.

"Good afternoon, Daughter, Granddaughter," Titania responded, her eyes dancing merrily. "I am glad to see you are on time."

"On time? For what?" Chise asked warily.

Beside her, Thistle cocked her head. "Nani?"

"For Thistle's afternoon lessons, of course!" Titania smiled.

Chise exchanged a glance with her daughter, before uncertainly asking, "Lessons?"

"Indeed! Do you not agree that it is time for her to unlock the energies of her body? Elias has grown into a competent teacher over the years; but this lesson may be beyond him."

"Oh! That is… very kind of you." Chise gave another small bow. She herself had suggested asking for help, or at least guidance; but now that the offer was before her, she was torn. She wished suddenly that Elias had joined them for their walk.

"It'll be okay, " Ruth said, startling her as he nosed his doggy head into her hand. "I don't think she means any harm."

"Of __course __I don't," Titania replied, slightly coolly. "I have nothing but concern and affection for my granddaughter." She held a hand out to Thistle, who gripped her mother's hand a little more tightly, sensing her reluctance.

"May I ask what this lesson will entail?" Chise asked warily, "And where it will take place? Silky is expecting us home soon for tea."

"The guidance I offer is not for human ears—not even those of a Sleigh Beggy. However…" she smiled reassuringly. "We need not leave your sight; and the Silver Lady will not be left waiting. Come," she prompted, turning, and with light and graceful steps that left no trace over the summer grasses, led the way to a nearby clearing. "Wait there in peace," she said, indicating a mossy log on the far side; "I will speak with Thistle here."

Still reluctant, but not feeling any actual threat, Chise let Thistle's hand go with a last squeeze. "Mama's going to be right there, love, okay?"

"'kay," Thistle replied, looking a bit uncertain herself, but obediently waiting beside Titania as Chise backed across the clearing.

Titania knelt amidst the slow settling of her skirts, patting the soft, cool grass before her. As Thistle joined her, cocking her head expectantly, Chise heard her say, "Now, Thistle, attend my words…" before her voice grew too quiet to hear.

Chise and Ruth both kept careful eyes on the pair, saying little; but so far as either could tell, they only talked, Titania expressively; Thistle occasionally nodding as she listened attentively.

It was only a half hour or so later, Chise estimated, before Titania rose, leading Thistle back to her mother. "Thank you for your patience," she smiled. "I look forward to tomorrow's lesson." And with that, as Chise took Thistle's hand, she simply turned and left, vanishing in a moment between the ancient trees.

"What did she say to you?" Chise asked, curious, as they headed back to the path for home.

Thistle looked thoughtful, and slightly distracted. "Words," she piped.

* * *

** Hi Angelica**  
** I have a favour to ask**  
** If it's not too much trouble**

**Sure**  
**Whats up?**

**Would you please ask Hugo if Azami is a Sleigh Beggy?**  
** Like me?**

**No**

** Sorry**  
** Never mind then**  
** Are you still coming for tea on Friday  
**** ?**

**lol Chise**  
**No**  
**I mean he says she's not**  
**And yes**  
**I will be there**  
**Hugo too of course if you want to ask him yourself**  
**See you then!**

** Thanks!**  
** See you then**  
** Take care**

**Bye**

Chise stared at her phone screen, and burst into tears.

In a moment Elias was on the sofa beside her, arms around her, his book lying spread-eagled on his chair, forgotten. "It's okay, shh, it's okay," he softly crooned to her as he stroked her hair, head tucked under his chin as she sobbed, clutching his shirt.

As she settled somewhat, gently rocked in his arms, he cautiously asked, "Are you okay? What brought that on? What's wrong?"

"Thistle—Hugo—Hugo says…" She choked again, sobbed, took a __very __deep breath, sat back, and scrubbed at her eyes with her sleeve.

Ruth raised his head from his paws. "It's okay," he reassured the worried mage; "She's just relieved."

"Angelica says Hugo says she isn't a Sleigh Beggy!" Chise managed to blurt out.

Elias's shoulders slumped and he leaned back against the sofa, one hand pressed to his forehead. "Thank god," he muttered.

Chise curled into his chest again, snuggling close and sighing deeply. "I was __so afraid__," she said, tearing up again. "I—if she had the Sleigh Beggy curse too—I mean, we couldn't just try and share my dragon curse and Joseph's curse with her; what would that even __do __to her? How could I do that to my own child?! But without it, how long—how long would she even…"

Ruth came and sat on her other side, rubbing her back comfortingly, as she broke down sobbing again. "I know," he said quietly.

"I don't even think I realized how worried I was about it until just now," Chise said, her voice muffled in Elias's dampening shirt. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to worry you…"

"No, no, it's all right," Elias soothed, sounding distracted himself. He sighed, and squeezed her tightly, nuzzling his cheek against her head. "I'm glad too. Thank god…"

Ruth looked up as Silky popped her head around the doorway, looking deeply concerned. "Everything's fine," he smiled. "Hugo says Thistle isn't a Sleigh Beggy."

Silky swayed back, closing her eyes in relief; then gave a happy little hop, clapping her hands in joy as she twirled and rushed back to the kitchen. A clatter of pans soon filled the air, as Ruth sniffed appreciatively.

"I suspect Thistle will wake up to a rather more elaborate teatime than usual," Elias smiled happily.

* * *

As soon as he heard about it, Elias had insisted on coming along to Thistle's lessons with Titania, of course. Chise didn't argue; she understood perfectly. Even with the pair staying within sight, Chise couldn't help but feel a bit anxious about the whole thing herself, despite her having been the one to suggest seeking the Queen of the Night's help. She suspected that at least part of it was just Thistle being in the forest, and out of her reach. She knew full well how dangerous some of the fae could be; and while not to quite the same extent that Elias seemed to, she had to admit that she also didn't quite trust even Titania to not try to lure or otherwise spirit her daughter away into the Anthill.

However, Titania was always careful to stay within the anxious parents' view, if not their hearing, and had not given them any reason for concern.

Still… It made the whole thing a bit tense, even with Silky's packed lunches.

At the moment, Chise, sitting on their checkered picnic blanket, was unobtrusively peeking at the pair over the rim of her mug, as Elias poured himself more tea from the thermos. Titania hadn't ever seemed bothered by her regard; but Thistle seemed to find it distracting and would spend more time waving at her than listening to her tutor, so Chise tried to be subtle as she watched.

Thistle seemed thoroughly engrossed, though, listening intently as Titania leaned in to wiggle the child's toes, making some point or another. Thistle raised her foot, spreading her toes herself as she struggled to hold it aloft while keeping her balance, trying to inspect it closely.

She had grown, and lost a lot of her initial roly-polyness; but the position was still an awkward one for her.

Behind her, Elias clattered the lid, distracting her. "Do you think she's making any progress?" she asked quietly, turning back to him. "Can you tell?"

Elias's eyes, glowing slightly brighter in the cool green air, drifted to their daughter, still intently absorbed with her feet. "I don't know. Until she does something, how can we tell?"

"She won't tell me what Ti—what __her teacher __is telling her," Chise griped, careful to not attract the fae's attention by naming her. "Or showing her."

"She won't—or can't—tell me, either. But I'm not sure she has the vocabulary."

Chise sighed. "True. But it's been over a month—"

"Mummy! Daddy! Look!" Thistle's excited squeal shattered the still air.

Chise turned, and froze, mouth dropping open in shock. Tottering towards them across the clearing, under her tutor's benevolent, proud gaze, an ecstatic smile splitting her face, bipedal, pink, and __human__, was a naked little girl.

* * *

_A/N: Woo! Look at me go, cranking out all these chapters! :D Seriously, I'm pretty happy with how much more quickly I managed to get this one written, compared to what, a traditional average of like a month on this one? XD_

_All I can say is that I've been managing to get a bit more uninterrupted time to myself for writing in over the past few days, which makes all the difference for me. So please, keep encouraging me with your thoughts and reviews; and look for the next chapter to come along fairly quickly as well, I think! :D_

_Take care! Stay safe! ~Kryss_


	17. Chapter 17

"Mummy! Mummy, look! I did it!" Chise's arms opened wide to catch her before she even realized, as Thistle, white-blonde hair a dandelion pouf about her shining green eyes, threw herself bodily into her arms. "I did it, Mummy!" she said, laughing in delight. "Look! I did it!"

"You did!" Chise laughed, finally finding her voice. "You really did! Elias! She did it!" She turned to her husband, to find him sitting frozen beside her, jaws agape, eyes dim and still. "Elias! Thistle, go to Daddy!" She helped her daughter back onto her pink little feet, little fists tight about her fingers for balance, and steered her, stumbling, across the blanket to throw herself at her father, as well, as Ruth excitedly bounced around the clearing.

With a start, Elias roused himself from his shock, hands carefully enclosing her torso as he bent his head to meet her eyes. "You did," he breathed. "You did it! Well done!"

"I look like Mummy," Thistle laughed. "Look! Mummy toes!" She thrust her foot into his face, wiggling them under his snout.

"Mummy toes, indeed!" Elias agreed with a laugh, nuzzling at them.

Chise barely registered Titania's approach until she spoke. "Well, that was a success, I think? Well done, Granddaughter!"

"Thank you, Nana!" Thistle said, throwing herself backwards to look up at her, trusting her father's hold as he managed, with a small, frantic juggle, to maintain his grip long enough to gently lower her to the blanket.

"Silly girl," Titania said fondly, bending down to ruffle her hair as Ruth took the opportunity to jump in and lavish her face with licks.

"Well done, Thistle!" Ruth cheered, ignoring her cheerfully-outraged squeals as she fruitlessly tried to push him away.

"Thank you, your Majesty" Chise blurted out, clambering to her feet to offer a hasty but heartfelt bow of gratitude. "Thank you so much!"

"Your aid has been invaluable, and is much appreciated," Elias agreed solemnly, looking up at her. "Thank you.

"You are very welcome," Titania smiled, stroking a fond hand over his forehead, and Chise's. "Well. It is time for me to go, I think. There is no need of a lesson on the morrow. Farewell, my dear children!"

"Nana! Wait!" Thistle shoved Ruth off, trying to scrub her face dry with her arm as she unsteadily scrambled to her feet, then threw herself at the faerie queen's legs. "Don't go, Nana!" she pleaded.

"I will see you again, dear one," Titania reassured her, lifting her into her arms. "But for right now, I have other duties to attend to, and other lessons to teach. You must practise what I have taught you, and show your parents all you have learned! I will expect a full update when next we meet."

"No," Thistle murmured, the corners of her mouth drooping, and as her thumb edged into her mouth and she snuggled into Titania, her form shimmered and drifted for a moment, before steadying again into her usual, fluffy form.

"There's a good girl," Titania said, passing her to Chise with a last pat, and a gentle kiss. "I will see you all again. Goodbye, my dears!" And with that, she, too, shimmered—and was gone.

"Wan' Nana," Thistle muttered forlornly around her thumb.

"We'll see her again soon, love," Chise said, giving her a comforting squeeze.

"Indeed we shall," Elias chimed in, scooping wife and child both into his arms. "Ruth, would you be so kind as to pack up the basket?"

Ruth huffed, but morphed as well, hurriedly stuffing the thermos and other odds and ends back into the basket, before shoving the hastily-bundled blanket on top and grabbing the handle in his once-again-doggy mouth, trotting after his family as Chise said, "Silky will have our tea waiting for us, Thistle. Shall we show her what a clever girl you are?"

* * *

After their tea, which Thistle could hardly hold still for (nor Chise, if she were being honest), once the cups and plates and crumbs had been tidied away, Elias cleared his throat, catching Silky's eye.

"Silver Lady, my daughter has something she wishes to show you," he proudly announced.

Silky regarded Thistle with curiosity, eyes wide, and stepped back as Thistle clambered off her father's lap, proudly marching to the centre of the kitchen. Tensing with concentration, her eyes grew dim and she cocked her head, nosing the air for a moment almost as though she were trying to locate a faint scent or stray thought. Then she shivered, the slight ripples flowing over her body, before with a full-body shake, her form wavered, distorted, and reshaped into that of the proudly-grinning, little white-blonde girl.

Silky's hands flew to her mouth as she all but squealed aloud, hopping in excitement. Then she whirled and vanished down the hallway.

"Where's she off to?" Ruth asked.

But before anyone could reply, Silky ran back in with an armload of fabrics, and all but threw it at Thistle, who sat down with a thump and a huff as she jolted back to normal. Barely breaking stride, though, Silky scooped them up, cloth and child together, and, barely pausing to impatiently beckon the rest to follow, dashed off to the sitting room.

Bemused, but catching her excitement, Chise and Ruth followed, with Elias trailing behind, just in time to see Silky dump the armload out onto the sofa.

Thistle crawled out from the pile, shaking loose a tiny shirt that had caught on the nubbins of her horns, and tucked herself into the corner of the sofa, watching Silky with great interest.

Silky, meanwhile, completely ignored her. She was digging through what they could now see was a collection of clothes—rapidly examining and discarding tiny vests, dresses, onesies, shorts; generating a virtual whirlwind of pinks, blues, reds, whites as she carelessly tossed rejected bits over her shoulders.

Finally, with a small satisfied hum, she stopped, put something down, and scooped Thistle up. Carefully depositing her in the centre of the hearthrug, she stepped back and gestured. __Go ahead__.

Thistle cocked her head and complied, concentrating, seeking, shivering; dissolving into the little human girl.

Silky squealed and clapped, whirling to catch her prize up from the sofa, and turned back, presenting the folded white cloth with an air of ceremony.

Thistle stood up and reached for it, stumbling slightly, still unused to balancing on only two legs, and Silky knelt in a cloud of pink skirts to help her as Chise, Elias, and Ruth circled closer.

As Chise and Elias joined them on the floor (Ruth merely moving to stand closer to Thistle, presenting her a steadying, furry body to clutch onto if needed), Silky took back the clothing, gesturing to Thistle to raise her arms.

Thistle, confused, lifted her hands to about shoulder height. Silky huffed, reaching to raise an arm higher.

"Over your head, Thistle," Chise chimed in, demonstrating, and Thistle, still confused but obedient, lifted her hands high.

With one smooth gesture, Silky shook out and settled over Thistle's head what turned out to be a lovely little cotton shift dress. The sleeveless bodice was gathered slightly at the high waist with a pink ribbon, tied into a little bow in front, while the knee-length hem was dotted about with tiny pink embroidered flowers and eyelets. Thistle leant over, pulling fistfuls of the skirt forward for a better look, and promptly lost her balance, bouncing off Silky's steadying hands to land with a bump against Ruth, and collapsing onto her tail with a huff.

Chise laughed; but Silky gave her a rather dry look before reaching to try and lift Thistle back to her dress didn't fit very well on this form, though, catching under her back paws and pulling tight at the arm holes. Silky made a small sound of frustration and tried to pull the skirts straight.

"I don't think it's going to sit right on this shape," Elias gently pointed out to Thistle. "Why don't you shift again, but look at it while you're sitting down?"

Thistle nodded, tugging herself free of Silky's fiddling hands, and concentrated again. If nothing else, Chise mused, she was certainly getting her practice in!

A moment later the little girl sat there again, hair even more mussed than before, little pink legs sticking straight out before her. Silky sat back with a satisfied air as Thistle picked up the front of the skirt, turning her head this way and that as she looked it over. Finally, she declared, "Pretty!" Looking up, she added, "Look, Mummy! Pretty!"

"Yes, it is!" Chise smiled, as Elias quietly murmured beside her, "You are!"

"Thank you so much, Silky!" Chise added, embracing the brownie with a smile. "It's lovely! You've been so busy! Have you been making these all along?"

Silky nodded eagerly, and hopped to her feet, pulling Chise over to the sofa. Sitting on either side of the pile of clothes, the two began to dig through it, Silky showing off her handiwork as they separated out the pieces that were now too small.

After watching them for a moment, Elias turned back to Thistle, who was engrossed in exploring how much of her finger she could fit into an eyelet. "You probably shouldn't do that, Azami," he quietly advised; "It'll stretch it, which will ruin it—which will make Silky upset."

Thistle instantly jerked her finger out, hiding her hand behind her back as she shot the brownie a guilty look (weirdly plain on her human face, thought Elias, wondering if his own expressions were as easy to read on his glamour); but Silky only glanced their way for a moment, hearing her name, before continuing with her Show and Tell for Chise.

"I think they're finding more clothes for you," Elias added. "Shall we practise standing? It will make it easier to show off your pretty new outfits. Silky will be very pleased."

Thistle looked thoughtful for a moment, then nodded eagerly, and clambered to all fours. With Elias's assistance, she managed to lever herself to her feet, weaving uncertainly.

"You use your toes to balance," Elias instructed. "And holding your arms out can help, too. —No, to the sides. That's right. See? How's that?"

Ruth watched them for a moment, and settled down for a nap, forgotten. He had a feeling dinner would be late.

* * *

"And where's Thistle?" Angelica asked as she settled onto the sofa beside Chise. "Afternoon nap?"

"No, she's just out in the garden with Elias. They should just be finishing up their practise; they ought to be joining us any minute now."

As if summoned by her words, they heard the door to the conservatory slam closed and the patter of bare feet rushing down the hall. "Thistle!" Elias called, entering the house more quietly behind her, "Wash your hands first!"

"But __Daddy—__"

"__Hands__."

The pitter-patter became a sullen drag back to the bathroom, where the splashing of water was punctuated by indistinct voices. But even as Silky was bringing in the tea tray, the footsteps trotted up again behind her, and a little tousled white-blonde head peeped shyly around the corner. "Auntie Angie?"

"__Thistle?__" Angelica's eyes widened. "Look at you! Come here! Let me look at you! What a pretty dress!"

Thistle eased herself out from behind the doorway, grabbing Elias's hand as he walked by and pressing tight against his leg. "Pretty," she agreed, as Elias slowed, and veered towards their guest. "See?" She spread her skirts wide with her free hand.

"Oh, yes, that's lovely," Angelica agreed. "Did Silky make this for you?" At Thistle's enthusiastic nod she added, "She's very good at it, isn't she?"

The brownie smiled, pleased, as she finished pouring the tea.

"Ah, thank you, Silky," Elias said, accepting a teacup. "—Thistle, would you let go so Daddy can sit, please?"

Angelica held out her arms. "Come and sit with me, Thistle! I haven't seen you in ages! What have you been up to?"

Thistle let go; but as Elias quickly withdrew to his chair, she instead carefully climbed onto the sofa between Angie and her mother, straightening her dress as she sat, clasping her hands in her lap. "Thank you, Silky," she said, accepting a small plate with a pastry.

"Aren't you the little lady!" Angie smiled. Thistle blushed and scooched a little closer to Chise.

"She seems to get a bit shy when she's first showing off her new form," Chise explained at Angelica's slightly hurt look. "She wouldn't even come out at all for Simon."

Ruth made himself comfortable on the rug on the other side of the table, and reached for a pastry of his own. "Took her longer to come out for Alice, too."

"Aww, Alice has seen her already? Man, I miss everything."

"Yes, it's been a while since you last visited us, hasn't it?" Elias said. "Extra busy?"

"Well, you know what it's like at this time of year, with all the new students and things…"

Thistle sat politely as she carefully had her tea, with Angelica sneaking peeks at her from the corner of her eye.

"What I can't get over," she said suddenly, "Is how __big __she's gotten! She's only what, about seven months? But she's a toddler now!"

"Well, faeries experience childhood differently from humans," Chise said, pouring herself another cup. "And that's without factoring in Elias's genetics…"

"Which are?" Angelica asked curiously.

"Unknown," Elias responded shortly. He didn't much care for discussing himself at the best of times. "But her younger childhood is likely to be more accelerated than one would expect for a human."

"Shannon's not concerned, though," Chise interjected. "And so far as we can tell, she's been hitting the appropriate developmental milestones for her apparent age."

"Or exceeding them, I should say!" Angie looked her over again. "I don't remember Althea being able to sit so nicely for this long when __she __was a toddler! Thistle, do you know your numbers?" she asked. "How high can you count?"

Thistle held up her hand, raising fingers more or less in sync with her counting. "One, two, san, neljä… ten!" She held both hands up to Angie proudly, fingers spread.

"All the way to ten?! __Very __clever," Angelica laughed. "And what languages were those? English—and Japanese, I'd be guessing?"

"And Finnish," Elias said.

"Ah, for Lindel." Angelica nodded knowingly.

"Yes," said Chise. "If she keeps growing up at this rate, we might take her for a visit next year."

"__Dragons!__" Thistle shouted, excitedly bouncing.

Silky __tsked __under her breath as she hastened back to the kitchen for a cloth for the spilled tea.

* * *

_A/N: Hopefully I'll be able to get the next chapter done fairly soon (did already start it), but I have to warn you, we got a VR headset Friday so, yeah. XD Might be distracted for a bit!_

_Also, I think we're only one or two more chapters from the end now, not three! That's gotta deserve some kind of recognition, ha ha! Man, "three chapters to go" lasted for what, ten chapters at least? XD_

_Stay safe, guys! Take care! :D_


End file.
